the last train home
by Erol carstein
Summary: Blaze finally finds the courage to ask Sweet cream to hearts and hooves day. but a jealous mare, a royal princes and a persistent tutor keep getting in the way, can he pull off the perfect night for Sweet cream? or will everything fall apart?
1. Chapter 1

The last train home, a short story of Blaze

After six months of gruelling lessons, games, studying and exams the time had finally come to go home. Blaze stood on the platform waiting for his train home, taking in the life around him. He'd been up since six this morning, double checking his room was clear, making sure he'd packed everything and getting ready. He'd take a half hour shower to make sure he was thoroughly clean for his mother, and another half an hour shaving and combing his hair to make sure he didn't miss a thing.

All around him other ponies where chatting and laughing, talking about what they were going to do for the holidays. The conversation topics were pretty average, blue eyes, the most popular mare in school was surrounded by her adoring legions of 'friends' or hangers on, was going on and on about how her parents had paid two hundred bits to get her front row seats at Vinyl scratches new concert. Pinkwing, her equally popular arch enemy was similarly surrounded by ponies and going on about the private cruise she was going on down south in the indigo ocean. All the stories where the same, concerts, festivals, conventions, everypony was doing something with their friends.

Blaze didn't particularly have anything planned; he would have gone to the Vinyl scratch concert. But he found her music to be kinda repetitive and boring 'now give me a shot of vodka and some tombstone, that's a concert I'd go to'. Blaze had been out the whole of last night on top gate hill with his friends, simply enjoying the final night. They'd snuck in some vodka, cider and even several cigars and spent the whole night simply chatting. When Daymoon had cracked out his music player and speakers from now where the sounds of Dubtrot had soon been echoing throughout the whole school. They would have stayed out longer, but then the teachers had come out with flash lights in search of the miscreant pupils and they'd had to run. Blaze had to hide in a clump of bushes with Daymoon, Nightshine and Kito for an hour whilst the lights had flashed to and throw.

Now waiting on the platform he knew he would miss the guys over the holidays, all of them. He'd had a great time over the term, but now it was time to go home and finally relax. "this is the calling for the ten fifteen to Canterlot, now boarding at platform seven" there was a sudden bristle through the crowd of assembled ponies and then, as one, they moved off to the platform, leaving Blaze alone on the platform with Blue eyes, who without her following of slavering ponies, seemed a little deflated. Blaze hid a smile 'serves you right in the end, you go around with your head held mercilessly high and break your neck when you fall'

Blaze didn't have anything against her specifically, but something about the arrogance the teenage filly carried herself with got on his nerves 'that and the rumour involving me, Sweet cream and half a gallon of full fat cream…' a few months ago with nothing better to do with her time Blue eyes had spread a rumour that Sweet cream, one of the shyest and self contained ponies he knew after Fluttershy, had reached heat early and had ask Blaze to cover her in cream and lick it off. Just the memory of Sweet creams face when she'd walked into the dining hall and been ridiculed by the entire school make Blazes flame like mane and tail, for which he was aptly named, flare up.

"so…what are you doing this half term?" Blue eyes asked him, she trotted over and stood beside him, preferring to be seen with anypony then be seen by herself. Blaze gave her a sideways glance.

"Nothing much, just working" Blaze managed to hold down a steady job at his dads forge, mainly fixing old tools and machinery for the Apple family. He was learning how to forge rudimentary jewellery though, and around his neck hung his first attempt, a simple chunk of metal he had carved into the shape of wings.

"You work? That's so lame" Blue eyes giggled. 'What does she know, her father's rich and powerful, and she'll never have to work a day in her life for anything. Take a look at her test results and you can be sure of that' "I can't believe you have to work" she tossed her mane "I get everything I want for free"

'that's because you sleep with half the stallions in school' he wanted to say, but instead he took a different approach "well somepony has to make a honest living" he fixed her a stare with his sapphire blue eyes "someponies don't want daddy to pay for everything, someponies find it more satisfying to earn something"

Blue eyes stared at him, shocked. Nopony had ever talked like that to her before, not once. "well someponies have a father that can actually support their families" Blaze felt the muscles in his wings tense.

"My father works around the clock to feed his family, how do you think he managed to send me here?"

"probably because he slept with the head mistress" Blue eyes flicked her mane again 'god that's irritating'

"my father would never betray my mother, but speaking about promiscuity…" he smiled 'this is going to be good' "how's your ponyfreind doing? He must have been heart broken when you two broke up" Blue eyes had been going out with a stallion called ironhoof , but the relationship had ended when it had emerged that he'd been seeing Pinkwing on the side lines. Blue eyes mouth gaped. "close your mouth before somepony gets the wrong idea and pulls down their pants" Blue eyes shot him a venomous look, then closed her mouth and trotted off, humphing as she did so.

Blaze smiled, then pulled out his headphones, a large set of 'Dubtrots' produced by Vinyl scratch for her knew audio technology line, placed them over his ears and played his favourite song "love me cherilee" by wooden toaster. Time passed and slowly the students filtered away onto their trains, Blaze watched them go, waving bye to his friends as their train left, and then waited for his train.

As ever his parents had placed him on the last train to leave for ponyville the ten fifty nine, time seemed to crawl by at a snail's pace. When the train finally pulled in he pulled on his flank pack and stepped onboard into the single train car, dropping down into an old worn out seat. With a screech of steam the train slowly out of the station, huffing and puffing as it pulled away. The conductor came along and punched his ticket, but apart from that the trip was quiet and lonely.

After an hour the train pulled into the ponyville train station, with yet another screech of steam. Blaze stepped off the train and onto the empty platform, looking down its length. Further down the platform there stood two adult ponies, waiting hoof in hoof. One of them was a small unicorn. Her skin a snow white, her mane and tail a deep purple and both where expertly curled, on her flank were three diamonds. Her eyes where light blue and seemed to twinkle with happiness and pride as she saw Blaze. The other was an alicorn. He stood tall, his face filled with pride. His skin was as equally white as the unicorns, and his wings where covered in soft white feathers. His mane and tail where the same mixtures of oranges, yellows and reds as Blazes, and his eyes where a fierce emerald green that seemed to hold green flames.

Blaze nodded in greeting and slowly walked up to the pair. "mother, father"

"BLAZE!" the alicorn pulled him into a fierce bear hug and swung him through the air, laughing as he did so, Blaze was surprised to find himself laughing as well. When his father placed him back on the floor blaze staggered slightly, his vision going in circles. "why didn't you call your mother? She's been worried sick"

"no I haven't" the unicorn gently nuzzled his face "it's good to have you home son"

Blaze smiled and nuzzled his mother Rarity back, then he gave his father Nova a hug. "it's good to be home"

"come on son, I'm cooking tonight" his father said, a smile on his face "how does your fathers homemade lasagne sound?" Blaze made a face and then laughed.

"it sounds good dad" and with that he picked up his flank pack, gave his parents a warm smile and stepped out the doors of the station. In the street ponies where going around their business, overhead there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the sun was warm on his skin. Blaze tilted his head to the sky and sighed, taking in the warmth of the day.

It was good to be home.


	2. Chapter 2, the first day

Chapter 2, the first day

In the small town of ponyville, a Pegasus woke from his dreams. Blaze sat up in his comfortable feather bed, rubbed his eyes, and looked to the window. Outside the sun was just beginning to rise, a small band of orange lit up the horizon. He yawned, slid out of bed, and made his way to the kitchen. After fixing himself a quick breakfast of simple oatmeal and apple juice, he made his way out on to the front porch and watched the world slowly awaken from its own slumber.

The town of ponyville was situated within a medium size valley, a small post of civilisation in the centre of a vast sea of green grass. Towards the east were the sun rose he could make out the silhouette of the apple family barn, standing stoically on the same hill it had stood on for decades. Around it he could make out the dark shapes of the orchards, stretching out over the valley floor and into the small foothills at the sides of the valley. At this moment he knew his friend Applebloom was already hard at work, bucking the apple trees and collecting the harvest.

In the west there ran the main road, a small cobbled highway that wound its way past his home on the outskirts and into the centre of ponyville, and past that to the train station. He knew that none of the ponies in the town would be awake yet, they where all still asleep in their beds. Some of them, like his other friend Sweetie belle, wouldn't be awake 'til midday at the least. Blaze crunched thoughtfully on his oatmeal as he contemplated the day ahead, chewing with mechanical efficiency as he dug his way through the bowl.

Today he had to get down to town and see if steel shanks has anymore dragon iron for the forge, he had to go to the market for mother and pick up more cathayian silk from the seamstress for her new line of summer clothing. '_I'll probably be modelling again'_ despite his mother Rarities insistence that Blaze was a handsome pegausi; he never did like the idea that somewhere in Canterlot or Manehattan was buying the clothes specifically because he looked good in them. he also had to stop by the jewellers and see how his latest order was coming through, it had to be absolutely perfect. '_Calm down blaze, there's no need to worry. Gemstone is one of the towns best jewellers, he's not going to mess anything up…but still, best check just to make sure'_

There was a soft chinking noise, and he looked at his bowl to discover he'd eaten his breakfast without even realising it. He gulped his apple juice down, went inside and placed both the bowl and the glass in the sink, and then grabbed his flank pack from its hook by the door and stepped outside. He adjusted his pack, made sure he had his wallet, and then set off down the road, his hooves softly chiming on the cobbles as he trotted into town.

As usual, the streets were just coming into life as he reached the town square. Across the square from him, ponies wearing clean and smart waiters uniforms set up the out-of-doors tables of a small café named 'the bread basket'. He leaned idly against a lamp post outside the seamstresses whilst he waited for madam Chloe to open shop, watching the world go by. A few doors down from the café a baker, wearing his own apron, stepped out of his establishment to place a fresh lot of loaves straight from the oven into several baskets outside his door, knowing the smell would soon attract plenty of hungry ponies out for their breakfast.

As the smell of fresh bread and pastry drifted across to him, Blaze felt his mouth water. '_if you've got enough bits when we're done then feel free to treat yourself, but the errands have to come first' _he thought, resisting the temptation of warm bread. Three mares trotted past him "Hi Blaze" they said simultaneously, and they each gave him a wink, Blaze smiled back. When he was younger, his mother had always told him that one day he would look just like his father. When he asked why that was a good thing, Rarity had told him that when his father Nova had first arrived in ponyville, he had caught the eye of every mare in ponyville (though she would never say how or why he came, or what he did when he got here)

"And one day you'll look just like you're father, tall, proud and handsome and all the girls will love you"she'd said when she was done, an affectionate smile on her face _"_I've always wanted to see my son being chased by mares, showing the world what he's got_". _Blaze smiled as he remembered his mothers face when he'd come home from his first day of school, a gang of fillies following behind him. But he snapped out of his day dream as he heard the chiming of a bell behind him, and turned to find the earth pony named madam Chloe standing in the door way to her shop, wearing her usual garb of fine silk.

"Ah Blaze, how did I know you would be my first customer for the day?" she smiled and gestured for him to come in "I have your mothers order in the back, please give me a moment whilst I go fetch it" she told him as he stepped inside. The seamstresses shop was warm inside, light pouring through a large skylight overhead. Over to the right of the large main room he stepped into was a small raised platform, surrounded by mirrors, over by the large window facing out onto the street stood three mannequins, each wearing an outfit that Blaze had modelled for his mother. A small counter ran along the wall opposite to the large window, and behind it was a door that led out to the store room where madam Chloe kept her looms of fabric. "Please take a seat" madam Chloe gestured to a set of plush chairs that sat behind the mannequins "my daughter will keep you company whilst you wait"

"Thank you" Blaze said as he took his seat, madam Chloe smiled warmly, made her way behind the counter and disappeared through the door to the store room. Blaze sat a waited, enjoying the strange muffled silence of the fabric surrounding him, when a quiet voice spoke in his right ear.

"Hello Blaze" it whispered, Blaze felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, but he suppressed the instinct to jump out of his seat with fright.

"Hello Weave" he said over his shoulder, and smiled as a small pink earth pony appeared to his right. Weave was only a year younger then Blaze, her body was bright pink, her eyes where a bright blue and her mane was a cascade of darker pinks, with the slightest hints of purple towards the tips. "How's school been?"

"Oh come on Blaze, six months without me and that's what you want to talk about?" she pouted "when did you become so boring?"

"Oh knock it off Weave" he said with a smile, Weave smiled and giggled quietly.

"Schools been fine, but I've been so bored. There's nothing to do at white towers, nothing at all…" white towers was a boarding school for mares somewhere slightly north of Trottingham, and specialised in educating mares in the fine arts of being a lady, though from everything Blaze heard at school, the mares spent their nights behaving in less than lady like ways.

"Well let's hope the half term is more fun then" he said, with a sly grin on his face. It was a game he was playing here, a game of subtlety, or more rather trying to be subtle whilst flirting. '_Am I good at flirting? I never thought to ask'_

"I hear that the lakes are beautiful this time of year" Weave gave him a knowing smile "maybe we should check it out sometime" Blaze grinned, and was about to answer when madam Chloe came through the door behind the counter, a loom of bright pink silk in her hooves.

"here you go Blaze" she said, setting the loom down on the counter "that will be…" she scanned a set of notes she kept behind the counter "twenty six bits" Blaze whistled.

"they don't make it cheap anymore, do they?" he said as he counted out twenty six bits from his wallet.

"to my knowledge the stuff was never cheap" madam Chloe said with a smile "have a good day now" she told him as he slid the roll into his flank pack and stepped out the door.

"Bye Blaze" he heard Weave call before the door closed behind him, leaving him out in the now busy street. '_next stop, the jewellers'_ Blaze made his way across the square, past the town hall and down a small side street. Eventually ending up in a small back alley, in front of him was a simple door, with a sign hanging above it that said 'Gem stone jewellers, makers of jewellery and watches'. Blaze stepped through the door and into a tightly packed room, where most of the space was taken up by glass counter, behind which lay row upon row of rings, necklaces and bracelets. Each one shone brightly, the gem stones set into them catching the light and reflecting it in a million different ways.

"Ah, master Blaze, come to check on your order have you?" said an aging stallion behind the counter. Gemstone was a unicorn bordering on the age of sixty, his once chestnut brown skin had begun to darken and gray with age. His mane and tail, once deep brown where both streaked with grey and white. His mane had been cropped short, and his green eyes where hidden behind a pair of smart glasses, He didn't look like a jeweller at all.

"you know it mister Stone" Blaze said with a nod, Gemstone nodded back and reached under the counter, pulling out a wooden box. He laid it on the counter and pushed it across to Blaze.

"I finished it a week ago, finest piece of work I've ever done, if I do say so myself" Blaze reached tentatively towards the box, pausing to savour the moment, and then he slowly opened it. Inside was a delicate necklace, its tiny chain made out of pure silver. Attached to the necklace was a pair of emerald green wings, overlaid with tiny emeralds and its tiny feathers etched out in incredible detail.

"It's incredible" he whispered "perfect, just like I imagined it" he told Gemstone, a broad grin on his face. "What do I owe you?"

"Seventy three bits" Gemstone told him, obviously pleased with Blazes reaction. Blaze simply nodded and pulled out his wallet, placing the bits on the counter. Once he'd counted them all Blaze said his thanks to mister Stone and stepped out into the cool shade of the back alley.

'_perfect, just like I dreamed it would be'_ he thought as he set off down the street '_sweet cream will love it'_ he thought with exultation, and with that he spread his wings and leapt into the sky, rolling and looping as he flew home. Over head the sun shone as bright as ever, and in the streets below ponies stopped to look up as he rolled and spun and dived across the sky. It was all going to plan, hearts and hooves day was only a week away, and now he was all set '_sorry Weave, but we won't be going to the lakes'_ he thought as he did a lazy barrel roll _'I have a date with a angel called sweet cream'_

It was good to be home

* * *

><p>Authors note: I would like to dedicate this chapter to Timefather 64, looks like you've got your story, enjoy.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3, emerald wings

Chapter 3, emerald wings

His parents where already up by the time he got back to the house, the sounds of their morning routine filling the kitchen "you where up early" his father said as he walked into the kitchen, he gave his son a quick glance "and you're cheeks are flushed, who was it this time? Weave? I bet it was, the mare's always had a liking for you" Blaze took a few seconds to understand the meaning of his father's words.

"DAD THAT'S GROSS, DON'T TALK ABOUT STUFF LIKE THAT!" Blaze shuddered, the idea of his dad talking about sex? Ugh! He still felt sick every time he saw his parents kissing. "And it wasn't anything to do with Weave" he made his way into the kitchen and sat at the table, his mother placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of him. "I've already eaten"

"I know" his mother said, a smile on her face "it's your dirty bowl that you left in the sink" she mussed up his mane, a motherly smile on her face "now eat up, you and you're father have some work to do in the forge and you'll need your strength" At the mention of the forge Blaze began to attack his food with gusto, picking up his spoon and plunging it deep into the oatmeal. As he cowed his way through the assorted oats and fruit his father Nova leaned over to whisper in his wife's ear.

"But we don't have any work to do" he whispered, confused "the forge is shut until I've got the bellows fixed" Rarity gave Nova an exasperated look.

"I know that you fool, but how else was I going to make him eat his breakfast?" she nuzzled Novas cheeks "you're so naive to the ways of us mares"

"That's 'cause you're so manipulative" Nova said, he cheeks slightly pink "sometimes I wake up in the morning and still have no idea what you're going to be like" Rarity smiled and gave Nova a gentle whack on the head with the morning newspaper, Nova smiled back.

"Ow"

"And that's what you get for questioning the wisdom of your wife" Blaze nosily drank the dregs of milk at the bottom of the bowl and set it down on the table. A small moustache of milk lined his lips, which his mother wiped off with the hem of her apron. "I'm never going to teach you any manners"

"You've been working on it for about fifteen years now and you're still not getting anywhere, if it was me I'd give up" Blaze said, he turned his eyes to his father "now come on! We gotta get to work in the forge!" he slid off the chair and dashed across the room "come on dad!" Nova smiled as he saw the foal-like excitement in his sons' eyes.

"Yeah about that..." Nova glanced at Rarity who motioned for him to continue "the forge is out of order until I fix the bellows, so we can't work in it today" Blaze's face fell.

"But you'll fix it right? We can work at some point right?"

"Blaze, if you're really this keen about learning to forge then you should sign up for lessons, I'm sure there must be somepony in this valley who could teach you" Blazes' mane and tail flared slightly, their short hairs standing up and blowing in a nonexistent wind so they looked like burning flames. Blaze was the child of the alicorn prince Nova, and despite having the dominant genes of a Pegasus was still prone to utilising magic if his emotions where strong enough. This current phase that made his hair blow was common enough though, so Nova didn't really react. "I still don't get why you're so against the idea of being taught by another pony, it's not like they're going to teach you the wrong stuff"

"But I want you to teach me dad! I want you to teach me how to make stuff! I saw you're hammer, you made that. I wanna make stuff like that too, I want you to teach me" Nova shook his head, by the Goddess his son was stubborn.

"Blaze, I've taught you everything I know. You know how to reduce the metal to make it stronger; you know how to shape the moulds. I taught you how to hammer the metal into shape and how to correctly cool and reheat it to prevent it from cracking and snapping. I've given you the knowledge and know you've got to put it to use" there was the noise of a chair being pushed back and Nova carried his plates to the sink, he ran the tap and washed them. "I've put in an order for a new skin for the bellows but it'll take at least a week to get here, but when it arrives I'll patch it up and we can get to work" he took a wash cloth and dried the plates, once they were dry he set them down on the drainage board and gave his sun an exasperated sigh "your stubbornness really gets to me sometimes" he went back to the table and picked up a purple envelope "this came for you by the way, it's from twilight" Blaze took the letter and flipped it over, as usual Twilight had used the same purple envelop that she always used, but this time there was a sparkly star on the cover by the name address.

"it's about my tutoring" he said, placing the envelope back on the table "the text books I ordered must have arrived, I'll go pick them up" Blaze went out to the hall way and picked up his flank pack, for the second time in three hours he was going back to town, more work then he normally did.

"You study like one of Celestias prize students and you've got muscles like a blacksmith" his mother said, following him to the door "but when it comes to girls you're just like you're father sometimes"

"Hey! I'm way cooler with mares then dad ever was, at least I don't get sweaty when one of them says hello!"

"I heard that!" Novas voice came from the kitchen.

"Just be back before dark ok?" His mother mussed his hair again, an affectionate smile on her face as ever.

"It's just some textbooks mum, I won't be long"

"That's what you said about getting cupcakes from sugar cube corner, and when me and your father had to come and get you we found Aurora hoof feeding you sweets" his mother said, Blaze blushed.

"She insisted ok? It wasn't my fault" Blaze opened the door and stepped out into the sunlight, Rarity couldn't help but love the way the flames in his mane and tail caught the sunlight '_just like his father'_ Blaze opened his wings and took to the sky, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"I remember when I used to fly like that" Nova said, coming to stand by Rarity.

"I remember when you got touchy after sex"

"A bit off topic don't you think?"

"The kids out of the house now get up those stairs"

"Yes ma'm" Nova swiftly made his way up the stairs, followed closely behind Rarity.

≤ΘΘΘ≥

Blaze landed outside of Twilights library silently, gliding into a rolling stop that brought him straight to Twilights front door. "Miss Sparkle" he knocked on the door, liking the sound his hoof made as it hit the solid oak of the door.

"One minute" a voice said from inside. There was a scraping noise, followed by a muffled crashing and the sound of tearing paper "come in Blaze" Blaze opened the door to find Twilight sparkle, his tutor, lying on the floor buried under a pile of books. "A bit of help would be nice" she said, her face red with embarrassment.

"I warned you to give these books a rest" he told her as he dug through the pile with his hooves and wings.

"Oh be quiet Blaze" Blaze offered her a hoof and pulled Twilight from the mound, easily pulling her to her hooves. Twilight dusted herself off and gave her mane and tail a quick shake, when she was done she fixed Blaze with a warm smile. "It's good to see you again Blaze, shall we continue from where we left off?"

"Sure, ancient history if I remember correctly" which he knew he did.

"Of course, take a seat" Twilight indicated to two chairs on the other side of the avalanche of books, Blaze nodded and picked his way through, followed closely behind be Twilight. When they reached the desk Blaze sat himself down in his accustomed place, the small wooden chair on the right. Twilight sat herself in the stuffed arm chair opposite him and levitated a heavy book from the shelves behind her without turning around '_show off, we can't all have magic_'. "So then" Twilight flipped through the pages of the book, coughing as dust drifted from it. "Here we go, the battle of iron forge. When did the battle take place?"

"In the year one hundred and sixteen A.D.W."

"Correct, the commander was?"

"Commander Nova, a royal prince of Canterlot and brother to the princesses Luna and Celestia" Blaze liked that name, Nova; his father was named after that commander. '_The starflights have always fought in the name of Equestria_' his father had once told him '_so no matter what they say Blaze, you've got a warriors heart, and don't you forget it"_

"Who's the mare you're going to give that necklace to?" Twilight asked, raising her eyes from the book. Blaze was taken aback '_how did she know_'

"What necklace? What are you on about?" Twilight smiled and pointed towards her horn with a hoof.

"I'm a unicorn Blaze, don't try your games on me" Twilight set the book on the desk and leant forward, a rueful smile on her face "so, who is she?"

"Sweet cream" Blaze murmured, he could feel blood rushing to his cheeks.

"Fluttershies daughter?" Twilight leant back into her chair and steepled her hooves, staring at him intently, Blaze began to feel uncomfortable.

"Well I'm just going to go" he said awkwardly "thank you for this brief lesson Miss Sparkle" he'd only been there for five minutes.

"Text books are on the table by the door" she said, Blaze made a quick grab for them and stuffed them into his flank pack. "Good luck" Twilight called out as the door closed behind him. '_Thanks Miss Sparkle, I'm probably going to need it_'


	4. Chapter 4, well worth it

Chapter 4, well worth it

"Whatcha doing?" Weave asked, appearing beside Blaze from out of nowhere, as she was prone to do.

"Going to miss Fluttershies house" Blaze said, giving her a glance '_really? You're wearing a Tinalium necklace with Arabian silk, I'm pretty sure that's against the law...oh goddess I sound like my mother'_

"Why?" Weave gave him one of her cute smiles "who ya going to see?"

"Miss Fluttershy" Blaze lied; it was a useless one though. As with miss Sparkle Weave could tell when you where lying, but the unnerving thing was she didn't need any magic to do it.

"Liar" Weave gave him a wink "its sweet cream isn't it? I KNEW IT!" she shouted as a small flush ran up Blazes face "you're going to go see sweet cream" she fluttered her eyelashes "_oh sweet cream"_ she said in a lispy imitation of his voice "_i wuv you so much, please go out with me_"

"shut up" Blaze mumbled, the flush on his cheeks growing brighter "you're making ponies stare" it was true, many where turning their heads to watch Weave tease Blaze as the pair made their way down the road.

"Awww, Blaze is embarrassed about people knowing he's going to meet his marefriend" Weave smiled "you're so cute when you're embarrassed"

"I'm not cute when I'm embarrassed!" Blaze replied, though the blush on his cheeks made way of the lie "Sweet cream and I are just friends, that's all. A guy can be friends with a girl you know, there doesn't have to be any chemistry"

"Then what about you and me?" Weave said, her smiled had turned sly '_walked right into that one Blaze you did'_

"Who said we had chemistry?" '_Take that Weave'_

"Oh...ok" '_played it too hard you idiot_'

"I didn't mean it!" he said, realising too late what he'd just said '_damn this mare is smart'_

"So we do have chemistry!" Weave grinned "oh Blaze, I knew you couldn't resist me" she flicked her mane playfully, a grin on her cute face "after all, who couldn't love this shade of pink?" she gestured to her flank. Despite himself, Blaze grinned.

"How do you manage to beat me each time? How does anypony think that quickly?"

"I go to White towers remember? When you go to a school full of bitches you learn quickly" Weave gently punched him in the shoulder "but right now we need to focus on you, you can't see your marefriend like that!" she indicated to his mane, which he hadn't yet combed. "She'll freak out worse than Sweetie belle, and why on earth are you carrying that old thing?" she pointed to his flank pack "you've had that thing for years, aren't you ever going to get a new one?"

"One: She's not my marefriend, she's a friend. Two: She likes my mane the way it is and three: it's six years old" he readjusted it to make it more comfortable "and I'm not going to replace it, my father gave it to me on my first day of school"

"I still don't get why he did that, it was bigger then you. You literally had to drag it behind you to school"

"i grew into it, and why do you care? I'm just going to say hi, it's not like I'm going to ask her ou..." '_Damn you and you're big mouth Blaze_'

Weave froze, her face still. For a few moments she just stood there, and then she burst into life "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" she squealed, leaping at Blaze. She wrapped him in a fierce Bear hug '_can't breathe! It's like she's made of iron!'_ "YOU'RE GOING TO ASK SWEET CREAM ON A DATE, THIS IS SO CUTE!"

Blaze blushed and ducked his head down, looking about him. They had reached the end of the street and had reached the junction that led out of town and down to Fluttershies house, the junction was busy at this hour and Weaves outburst drew a lot of attention. On the north east corner where the three mares from earlier, and when they heard Weaves shouts they turned their eyes to Blaze, he didn't like what he saw there. "For the love of Celestia will you shut up!" he hissed at Weave, who was making a huge fuss over his tail.

"You should get it cut, or trimmed at the least" from seemingly nowhere a measuring tape, scissors and several strips of blue silk ribbon. She swiftly began measuring his tail, her small tongue poking out the side of her mouth.

"What are you doing?" he whispered "you just screamed out to the whole town that i want to go out with Sweet cream and now you're measuring my tail? And what are those ribbons for?"

"Hold still" Weave plucked a piece of ribbon, and in a flurry of motion braided it into his tail, snipping off the excess material "Ta-da! What do you think?" Blaze gaped at her, horrified.

"What the hell did you just do!" he stared at the piece of ribbon, which seemed so out of place amidst the fire of his tail.

"Do you like it? I thought it contrasted quiet well, and it matches your eyes perfectly!" she gazed at the piece of ribbon in satisfaction and once again launched into action, Blaze had to shield his eyes. When Weave was done he had five strips of sky blue ribbon braided into his tail.

"I LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT!" he screamed, hurriedly lowering his voice when he realised he was shouting "I gotta get out of here!" he gathered his legs beneath him and took off, rocketing up into the sky in a bid to escape

"Blaze wait, I didn't do your mane!" Weave shouted as he disappeared through the clouds, but once he was out of sight she gave a malicious smile. '_enjoy your time with that manipulative bitch Sweet cream Blaze, if you've even got the guts to go' _that'll teach Blaze a lesson about rejecting her, not matter how nice Weave looked on the outside, she was mean on the inside.

≤ΘΘΘ≥

'_go on, just do it'_ Blaze stood on the door of Fluttershies home, staring at the simple red wood. He'd played Greymane academy in rugby and flown in the Cloudsdale endurance trials, but facing the simple barrier between him and Sweet cream was perhaps one of the greatest challenges he'd ever faced. '_Come on Blaze, just knock on the door, give her the necklace and let's get back home and get these bloody ribbons out'_

He took a breath, counted to ten and raised his hoof to knock on the door. As he brought his hoof down on the wood the door opened suddenly and he lost balance, he had a brief moment to notice the equally surprised yellow Pegasus on the other side of the door before he fell forward on his face. '_Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow'_

"Oh my!" Fluttershy exclaimed, though anytime she exclaimed something was always quiet "Blaze, are you ok?"

"Uummff" the lump of pony on the floor said, Blaze pulled himself up from the ground and wobbled slightly. He rubbed his head with a hoof, watching stars float across his vision. "Yeah...yeah I'm fine" he shook his head and the stars flew away, but a brief flashing still remained.

"What where you doing out here? I noticed you standing at the door and I came to open the door and then this happened!" Fluttershy was mainly concerned with the well being of animals, but nopony could deny she was ridiculously compassionate about the well being of other ponies as well.

"Well I..." he shook his head "I was wondering if Sweet cream was in" Fluttershy smiled.

"oh of course she's in, I think she's just feeding angel right now, I'll go get her" she gave Blaze a knowing smile and crossed the front room of her tree home, if that was the definition, it was a house in a tree, but it wasn't a tree house. Blaze waited by the door, staring at the ribbons Weave had braided into his tail.

'_And she wanted to put some in my mane as well'_ the streaks of blue stood out amidst the field of fire they lay in. '_i mean come on! Sky blue? Seriously? If you want the correct contrast you've got to use azure do you hear me? AZURE!'_ He considered the ribbons for a few moments more '_or maybe a light cyan. Matches my eyes she said, so maybe ultramarine'_ he suddenly realised he was thinking about what colours to braid his tail with '_I've been living with my mother too long_'

"Oh, hey Blaze" Blaze snapped back to reality and saw the beautiful Pegasus standing before him. Sweet cream was beautiful, so beautiful. She had her mother's yellow coat, but hers was a more pale yellow, a sought of creamy colour. Her mane and tail where also the same colour as her mothers, but there where streaks of snow white running through them both, and at the tips they bleached. Her eyes where a deep blue, almost matching Blazes, the only difference being Blazes where darker. "How are you doing? I thought you were busy in the forge this Easter"

"oh erm...no the forge's closed, the bellows are broken" '_if you pause this is going to get awkward, just take the shot' _Blaze summoned his courage and got ready for it '_let's do this'_ "Sweet cream, I really like you and I was wondering if you could got to the hearts and hooves day ball with me that's being held in town" the words came out in a torrent. "And if you don't want to go that's ok because I know you don't like that kind of stuff, so if you want to go somewhere else that's cool" he pulled out the box from his flank pack and opened it, offering the contents to Sweet cream, who gasped as she saw it. "and I've really liked you for a while now so I had this made because I really like you and I want you to have it even if you don't want to go out with me because I know you'll like it"

He paused to get his breath, but Sweet cream brought a hoof up to his mouth, silencing him. "Blaze, I'm really flattered but..." '_Oh crap, not the but! Please, anything but the but!' _"but i hate raves, i can't stand the music. Why don't we go somewhere quiet instead?" Blaze took a few seconds before his brain told him what Sweet cream had just said.

"so...that's a yes"

Sweet cream nodded

"YES!" Blaze shouted "COME ONE!" he leapt into the air, his wings flapping excitedly. He bro hoofed the air, his face ecstatic, before he realised what he'd just done. "thank you" he said formally, Sweet cream was trying not to giggle "you have done me a great honour"

"Did your mother teach you that?" Sweet cream asked

"My dad actually"

"and i'm guessing he bought you that necklace too"

"no actually, i go it myself just for you" when Sweet cream smiled and blushed, Blaze knew it had been worth every bit.


	5. Chapter 5, an awkward moment

Chapter 5, an awkward moment

Blaze pulled off a three-sixty spin whilst doing a barrel roll, streaking through the sky. As he completed another roll he pulled upwards into the air, flying upwards into the sky like a rocket. He broke through one cloud, another, a third. '_Come on Blaze!'_ he broke through the cloud layer and closed his wings, folding them against his body. His momentum took him another hundred meters into the air, the wind whipping his mane. He slowed and for a moment floated in the air, still and serene. Below him the world lay out like a carpet, a magnificent painting of greens and blues that seemed to stretch into eternity.

And then he was falling, gravity taking him in its grip. He was diving straight down towards the ground, the wind whipping through his mane and causing his tail to stream out behind him. He hit the cloud layer with a 'whumpfing' sound and soon his face was covered in moisture from the clouds, it gathered into streaks and ran across his face. '_Seven, six, five_' he broke through the upper layers, below him the clouds where thinning, ponyville was directly below him. '_Four, three, two'_ he slammed through the final layer, he was approaching the rainboom barrier, any faster and he would be going too fast to pull up...but screw the risks, he didn't care. '_One' _he closed his eyes and opened his wings. As he came to a halt the energy he'd built up went past him and whacked into the ground, manifesting as a half formed rainbow. The ring of colour hit the ground and spread outwards, swiftly dissipating in a wave of multicoloured fireworks.

'_And that's how we do it'_ he thought, admiring the vanishing clouds of colour. When they were gone he smiled and flew home, the wind ruffling his feathers. As he alighted on the porch he could feel the wood beneath his hooves shaking slightly and a faint squeaking noise was being emitted. He stood for a moment wondering what was happening when he heard what sounded like a cracking noise, what he heard next he could only hope he'd imagined.

'_What's my name?'_

'_Mistress Rarity'_

'_Good boy, maybe somepony deserves a treat'_

'_Thank you mistress'_

Blaze turned around, shivered, and left the porch. '_for the love of Celestia tell me i imagined that' _he tried not to focus on what he'd just heard and instead focused on his up and coming date with Sweet cream. '_She said yes, i can't believe she said yes!' _from the house behind him there was another cracking sound and a scream of ecstasy, followed by a loud moan and the faint words '_good boy, your mistress is pleased'. _Blaze felt bile start to rise in the back of his throat, he was pretty sure that if he could have seen his face, it would have been green. '_Ok Blaze, keep calm. Just fly away, be revoltingly sick in some bush, and pretend you never heard this' _

As Blaze flew towards the lake at the edge of the Everfree forest he considered his options for the date. _'sweet cream hates raves, so the concert for the students is out of the question' _he thought, lazily dodging a cloud '_she wants to go somewhere quiet, some place private. I can't take her to one of the restaurants, they'll be too busy. And it's not like i can take her to the bakery or something, buying her a pastry won't count as a proper date' _Blaze seemed pretty much out of options, the only other thing he could do would be to invite her round to his place and cook her dinner, but that seemed stupid as well '_dad wouldn't shut the hell up about that time i flew into a tree, and mum'll probably try to do the cooking for me and then she'll dress me up like a doll, cover me in perfume, spend the whole evening hiding behind the door whispering suggestions to me and show her my foal pictures'_ like he thought, no way was that happening.

He landed by the lake and tested the water with his hoof, it was ice cold and probably actually had bits of ice at the bottom. '_Perfect'_ he laid his pack on the side of lake along with a cloth he conveniently kept with him at all times in case he went swimming, tested the water once more and dived in. He felt a shock run across his spine, and the breath left his lungs. He moved under the water like a torpedo, slicing through the water and pushing up to the surface. He broke through the surface, took a breath and immediately began to swim front crawl. He swam his way across the lake once and stepped out on the other side, as naked as the day he was born. He shook his tail, letting the water droplets fly, and then he dived back in and swum back to his pack. As he stepped out, his mane and tail dripping wet, he heard a swishing noise. He looked up from scraping the water off his hooves and stood stock still, caught like a rabbit in the head lights. 

Before him was Weave and the twin unicorn mares Needle and Thread, smiles on their faces and their cheeks red. Blaze stood shocked, his eyes wide. Then he became aware he wasn't covered up, and his wings wrapped tight around him. "...hi?"

"Oh high Blaze, how are you doing?" Needle said, a sly grin on her face.

Blaze slowly stepped sideways to his pack and reached down for his cloth, only to discover that it was gone. "..."

"looking for this?" Thread held up the cloth and waved it in front of him '_keep your cool Blaze, keep you cool. No need to freak out and loose your cool, that wouldn't be very cool' _where the hell did this coolness come from?

"can i please have my towel back?"

"this thing? It's not a towel, it's way too thin" Thread balled up the cloth and through it into at the lake '_NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!'_ Blaze leapt up to catch the cloth, and then realised there was only one way he was going to catch it. '_Sweet cream forgive me'_ he opened his wings, flashing the three mares as he did so and caught the cloth in mid air. He came to a low hover and swiftly wrapped the cloth around his waist, covering his groin.

"Thanks Blaze" Weave said, and with a giggle, one of the twins used magic to cause them to disappear. Blaze hovered in the air for a few moments more and then landed by his pack, picking it up and slinging it over his flank. After a brief flight home, this time minus any acrobatics, he landed at the porch, and opened the door, heedless of the possibility that his parents could still be busy upstairs. He went up the stairs, entered his room and closed the door.

His room was simple, as simple as any room of a teenage stallion, which wasn't very simple. His walls where covered in posters of mares in somewhat provocative poses, each one devoid of much clothing, he kept them for appearances' sake though, he honestly couldn't give two flicks of his tail for any one of them. His bed was fresh made and white, the sheets and pillow cases seemingly glowed. He crossed over to his chest of draws and pulled out a fresh towel from the bottom one down, he'd already left a trail of water through the house, but he wasn't letting any get into the carpet in his room. His scrubbed himself down and threw the wet towel into his laundry basket by the door, he hit it dead centre.

'_well this is shit' _he thought, lying down on the bed '_you get one date and from nowhere Weave wants to see my crotch, this is even weirder then that time dad walked in on my reading 'Scootaloos' love for pain' _his father still hadn't realised that he was reading it for jokes because Daymoon had sent it to him, and that he wasn't clopping. '_Guess that's another reason I'm not inviting Sweet cream over' _for a while he lay on the bed, thinking about nothing. After a while he got down up and went downstairs, finding his parents sitting at the table, staring deep into each others eyes, it was so sweet he felt sick.

"hey" he said as he entered, making his way to the fridge. He opened it and pulled out a carton of apple juice.

"put that back when you're done with it" his mother said dreamily, not really paying any attention.

"Sure" he filled up a glass and drank it down swiftly, he placed it down on the drainage board and went back upstairs "oh and guys, one thing" he said before he was out the door, his father's ears flicked slightly in acknowledgment "For the love of Celestia keep it down next time" and with that he made his way back upstairs, back into his room and lay back on the bed. He sighed, his heart felt both elated and slightly weird after the events of the day.

He'd only been back a day, but it was good to be home


	6. Chapter 6, a midnight visitor

Chapter 6, day two

It was the middle of the night, and Blaze still wasn't asleep. He lay on his bed on top of the covers staring at the ceiling, his hooves behind his head. He'd been lying like this for hours, and he still hadn't gone to sleep. He rolled onto his side and looked to his alarm clock '3:40' it said in bright green electric letters.

'_oh come on!' _he thought, getting frustrated '_why the hell can't i get to sleep?'_ he rolled back onto his back and turned his head to look out the window beside his bed, outside the stars had come out, and a low hanging moon lit up the night. Blaze had pushed his bed all the way up to the wall, so he sat up cross legged and stared out the window.

The night was beautiful, as it always was. Just like everypony, Blaze knew the moon was raised and lowered by princess Luna, a beautiful Alicorn who lived in Canterlot. Blaze had always wanted to meet Luna, for reasons he could never quiet work out. It wasn't for sex, he was sure of that, he was just a normal Pegasus after all...but there was something about her that was so...mysterious, a kind of darkness that seemed to draw him in.

Anypony else always said they'd want to meet Celestia, but Blaze could never understand why. Celestia controlled the day, and it was during the day that ponies lived their lives. But it was in the night time the world truly came alive, when the ponies had gone to bed and the animals reclaimed the world.

Not animals in the sense of the dogs, cat, rabbits and other domesticated creatures that ponies kept as pets, no, real animals. Manticores and chimeras, basilisks cockatrices' and of course...Dragons. Blaze had always wanted to see a dragon, one of the greatest and most deadly creatures in existence.

His father had told him that before he was born, his tutor Twilight sparkle had had a pet dragon. Spike or spark or something like that, he could never remember. He'd had purple scales and bright green eyes and crest. But he'd grown his wings and migrated to one of the volcanoes in the far east a year before Blaze was born, which seemed rather disappointing.

Blaze tried to imagine what Spike would look like now, as a mature adult dragon. Adult dragons could live for over a thousand years, so it was entirely possible Spike was alive right now, somewhere out in the ash fields of the far east. '_one day I'll go find him' _Blaze thought, shifting in his bed until the eastern star appeared out in the top corner of the window '_I'll fill my flank pack with supplies, say goodbye to ponyville and go east. I'll see the great desert, where the city of unicorns lies. And i'll go to the oasis of divine light and collect some of its crystal clear waters to bring home. And then...the ash fields' _just the thought of the place sent a shiver of fear and exhilaration through Blazes spine.

The ash fields where located in the far east, the _far_ far east. They lay beyond Cathay, that ancient eastern stronghold of pony kind and the edge of pony civilisation. Once you got there you had to go north into the haunted steppes, where barbarous hoards of Mongol ponies led by their vicious khans lay in wait for unsuspecting travellers. But that was not the only danger, no once you got through the hoards you entered the ice peaks.

For every make believe story of ghosts and ghouls that existed in Equestria, there was a real one in the ice peaks. Whenever a pony came out from the peaks they would bring with them tales of creatures that came from the storms themselves, wrapped in ice and their touch freezing a pony solid in one second. There where tales of shadows that glided across the pale white snow at night to descend on sleeping travellers, who where never heard from again. They even talked about the storms themselves being alive, about how the great maelstroms of snow and ice would sweep down the mountains and cover merchants caravans and lone adventurers alike. Swallowing them whole and leaving nothing behind but frozen wagons and abandoned flank packs.

But once you got through the ice peaks the world flattened out into a single unending plain, the end of the world. The ash fields. In the fields a hundred volcanoes spewed ash and volcanic gases into the sky day and night, blocking out the sun and the moon. The world was lit up by the orange glow of lava rivers and the eruptions of magma, and the heat was hellishly oppressive. It was in the fields the dragons lived, and always had done. They flew and battled through the ash clouds and drank from the lava rivers and gorged themselves on the gems that lay in abundance.

At the centre of the fields was a massive peak, punching its way into the sky. It was krenturas, and ponies said that if you climbed to the top and looked down the great hole in its peak you could see into hell and behold the fate of all evil and sinful ponies. But there where rewards for such a suicidal journey, great rewards. In the ash fields where the finest jewels in the whole world, and they weren't hard to find either, the stories said that the gravel of the earth itself was formed from chips of emeralds and rubies and sapphires, all made grey by the ash.

But that wasn't it, not by a long shot. In the fields there lived some of the oldest dragons in the world, ancient beasts from the dawning times who had seen who civilisations grow from nothing and crumble to dust. A single scale of one of those creatures was worth a fortune, and also razor sharp, after all in the old stories the hero always used a dragon scale sword, the finest weapon ever. At the peak of Krenturas, where the lava poured from its gaping wound, there grew great fields of fire rubies; extremely rare and hard to come by, fire rubies where some of the most valuable jewels in the world. They where the colour of blood, and when held up to a fire light it was said they reviled the future within their red depths.

Blaze longed to go there to the ash fields and find one of these rubies and bring it home for the entire world to see, so they would know his achievement. Hundreds of years ago an explorer had brought princess Celestia a fire ruby that he had stolen from a dragons lair, and the princess had elevated him to the rank of a great lord and had the stone set within her crown. It was still there, a tiny and minute thing that was so easy to miss, but it was so beautiful.

He smiled at his idle dream and turned back to watching the stars, mapping out the constellations as his father had taught him to. In the north there was the unicorn, who's horn was peaked with Polaris, the northern star. In the south there was the pegausi, the tips of her wings where lit up by the twin stars of Galania. In the west was the earth pony, who had a single eye lit up by the Andraenic Star. And in the east was the Alicorn, the greatest constellation ever. It was huge, and took up the whole of the eastern sky. His wings spread out across the sky, covering the world below. His horn reach over the world and peaked at the centre, where the Galaxial star burned bright in the sky. And his eyes where lit up by a myriad of stars, shining bright in the night.

As he admired the Alicorn, making mental notes as it moved across the sky, he saw a silhouette blot out one of Alicorns eyes. He could only glimpse it for a second, but as it passed through the light he saw that it was midnight blue, with huge wings...and a horn. '_Luna_' he realised, his mouth becoming dry for some reason '_i just saw Princess Luna'_ he couldn't believe it '_but she never comes out at all, not even at night time. She has to stay in the castle and deal with the administration of the kingdom...so what's she doing flying over ponyville?' _it was a question that stayed with him, nagging at the back of his mind.

He watched the sky for a while longer, hoping to find another glimpse of Luna, but it proved to be a fruitless search. He sighed and was about to lie back down and try to get some sleep, but then a shadow caught his eye. He looked out the wind, and in the faint moonlight he saw a silhouette fly straight over his house and make its way to the lake at the edge of the Everfree forest, where it touched down and disappeared. In that one moment his mind was made up, this was something he wasn't going to miss out on. He sat back up, opened his window and stuck his head out, the night was warm and silent with no breeze. He wormed his way onto the window sill, made sure his parents room had the curtains drawn, and took off into the night, following after the shadow.

≤ΘΘΘ≥

Blaze glided silently into landing, angling his approach with the moon in front of him, so he wouldn't cause a shadow to herald his arrival. He alighted behind a thick set of reeds on the far side of the lake and silently tip toed his way through them and looked out on the lake, searching for his quarry. The lake was silent, still and serene, not a single ripple moved along the surface of the lake, and its surface mirrored the sky above it perfectly.

"Are you looking for somepony?" a light voice said behind him, Blaze froze in place, scared to turn around. "don't be afraid now" the voice said, Blaze gulped and slowly turned on the spot, his eyes wide. Before him, silhouetted against the moon, stood Princess Luna in all her dark, radiant glory. Her mane and tail where a Twilight blue, with streaks of black running through it and it was dotted with points of light, like stars. It shifted and billowed in an ethereal wind, spreading out behind her. Her skin was a deep blackish blue and her eyes where an equally deep blue. They twinkled as she saw blood rush to Blazes cheeks and he performed a rushed and clumsy bow.

"Princess Luna, your majesty..." he managed before he succumbed to the urge to stare, which his mother told him was rude.

"hello Blaze"

"you know my name?"

"of course" Luna moved and walked in a circle around him, Blaze stood stock still, unsure what to do "you look just like your father" she gently took hold of his chin and looked into his eyes, peering into their ultramarine depths. "different eyes, but i can see the same fire in them" Luna smiled warmly, her teeth where perfect and flashed white. "it's good to see you again"

Blaze didn't know what to say "we've never met before" he managed

"oh, we've never met, but I've seen you before, your father sends me and Celestia a picture every new hearths eve" she giggled when she saw the confusion in his eyes "don't you know who i am?"

"you're princess Luna"

"that's a title, who am i to _you_"

"Princess Luna"

Luna sighed and shook her head, the smile still on her lips. "your father never told you, did he?"

"tell me what?" he asked, and then, remembering his courtesies "your highness"

"well, i imagine this may come as a shock, but you had to find out sooner or later. Your father is my brother Blaze, I'm your aunt"

Blaze simply stared, his brain instantly churned out a rejection response "you've got to be shitting me" then he realised what he'd just said and his hooves flew to his mouth.

"no, i'm not shitting you" Luna said smiling.

"i'm pretty certain a princess doesn't swear"

"oh really?"

"yeah, really" Blaze hesitantly walked up to Luna, or more rather the supposed Luna and tentatively reached out and touched her nose. Luna blinked "ok guys, how did you pull this one off, seriously?" Blaze began looking around, expecting weave or somepony to jump up laughing, he was met with silence. "come one Needle, or thread, tell me, seriously" he walked in a circle around Luna, looking her over "an illusionary spell maybe?" he reached out and touched Lunas wings, as he touched them she ruffled her feathers "ok, maybe not" he poked her flank, Luna rolled her eyes.

"are you done yet?"

"a nice trick, really, it's got to be the horn right?" he reached up to it "it's gotta be a fake" he grabbed it, no, that was real enough.

"if i was a trick would i be able to do this?" Luna reared and instantly lighting split the sky, coming from nowhere. Lunas eyes glowed a bright white and Blaze fell back in surprise, landing hard on his rump. Luna came back down and her eyes stopped glowing, a smile was on her face.

Blaze was breathing hard "no, i guess you couldn't" he got back up "so, erm, pardon me for the whole wing horn thing, i was pretty sure this was a prank"

"it seems pretty stupid to me that someone would pull a prank this complex in the middle of the night miles from anypony"

Blaze blushed "yeah, i guess you're right" he remembered what she'd told him "but i can't believe you're my aunt, i mean, come on. You may be the real Luna, but how could you be my aunt? My dad's just a normal stalli-"

"he's an Alicorn is he not?"

"...yeah, but he-"

"and it's only royalty that are Alicorns"

"that's not true, there was an Alicorn born in Trottingham three years ago, she's not royalty"

"her sixteenth great grandfather was...intimate with my sister"

"...ah, that makes sense" '_the princess had a bastard foal? Well that's...unexpected' _he played his final card "if my dad is royalty how come he's never gone to one of the big royal feasts before? My dad's never been to the Grand Galloping Gala in his life, he's never been to Canterlot in his life! How can he be royalty? I mean, it's not like a prince would just decide one day 'I'm tired of this' and leave!"

It was Lunas turn to blush "that's...a long story that your father had best tell you" her smile dropped slightly "but that's another matter, i'm here for something else. I need to speak with your father Blaze, about a family issue"

"is this about princess Celestia getting food poisoning from that muffin the mail mare gave her last time she was in town?"

"i did tell her not to leave it in the fridge for so long"

"If I'm your nephew, how come you don't know where i live? How come you've never come to visit before?" once again, Luna blushed.

"your father and i had an...argument a long time ago and we've not really talked since" Luna reached out and touched a lock of Blazes flaming mane "i have wanted to visit for years...but your father wouldn't allow it, so instead he sends us a picture every year" Blaze had no idea what could make his father hate a princess, or why a princess would even listen to him. But if his father had been that mad to stop his own sisters from visiting their nephew, it had to have been serious.

"ok, follow me" and with that he turned around and took off, a million questions circling in his head. Luna, who was following close behind however, was too busy admiring the way her nephews wings beat through the air, seeing the strength in each stroke.

'_he's just like his father'_


	7. Chapter 7, Auntie Luna

Chapter 7, Auntie luna

Blaze flew silently through the night, followed by Princess Luna. His head was filled with questions he wanted to ask '_Is my father immortal? Am i immortal? What happened between you two? Why have you come now? What do you want? Why did you come to me?' _but he knew better then to ask them. His mother had told him that over a thousand years ago Luna had tried to drown the world in the darkness of the night for all eternity, only to be sealed away by the elements of harmony within her own moon. '_but she's changed now hasn't she? My mother is one of the element bearers, she should know'_

Blaze still wasn't sure what to make of this situation though. He'd literally only gotten off the train from school two days ago, and already he'd asked Sweet cream to the hearts and hooves day ball, flashed Weave, Needle and Thread, and now he was being followed by the royal princess Luna who was claiming to be his aunt. '_Only a week ago my world was no bigger than life at boarding school, and now this!_' Blaze had to wonder how he was managing to deal with it all. '_Luna will meet my father, they'll talk, I'll go to bed, and wake up in the morning with nothing to do but eat breakfast and study' _he liked the prospect of studying more than getting entangled in royal affairs '_I'm sure miss sparkle would be overjoyed to hear me say that' _

His house appeared from the gloom below him, a medium two story building surrounded by tall apple trees and cherry bushes, the back yard was covered in pink blossom. His father loved to watch the blossom blow off the trees, watching silently for hours as it gently floated off the trees and formed a thick pink carpet in the back garden. Once when he was younger Blaze had asked his father why they had the cherry trees when they made such a mess in the garden, Nova gave him a sad smile, lifted Blaze onto his back and pointed at the blossom.

'_a long time ago, before i met your mother, i knew a mare who loved cherry blossoms'_

'_what happened to her?'_

'_there was an accident Blaze, i keep the blossoms to remind me of her'_

Blaze had puzzled over the meaning of what his dad had said for years since, he'd even asked his mother, but she'd only told him the same thing as dad had. But as he grew older and spent the summers watching the cherry blossom fall, he decided not to press his father for any more information, and left the matter idle. But Luna had said she and Nova had fallen out after an argument; did she have something to do with the blossoms? Blaze decided it was best not to know. They came down into the centre of the garden, their wings causing a storm of pink blossom to fly into the air, where it began to fall like pink snow.

"This is your home?" Luna asked, looking around her "it's..."

"Old? Small? Drab?" Blaze had heard all these things before. The house was made from old brick, and years before his father had bought it, it had belonged to a merchant. The house had been abandoned after the outbreak of greyscale however, and had stood derelict for a hundred years before dad had patched it up. Many ponies at school said it was a disgusting looking thing, so Blaze didn't really expect much else from Luna, she did live in a palace after all.

"no no, it's...cosy, small yes, but cosy and warm. Just the sought of place Nova would want to live in" she looked up at the fall of cherry blossom "why does your father have cherry trees?"

"i was hoping you could answer that" Lunas expression became sad "it's best... it's best that your father tells you that story as well"

Blaze was puzzled '_it seems there's a lot of things my father has to tell me'_ just then there was a clacking sound of locks being turned and he looked over to see his father stepping out of the house, his mother just behind him with a relieved expression on her face. "BLAZE!" his father shouted as he crossed over to him "where have you been? What where you doing flying about in the middle of th-" Nova noticed Luna for the first time, instantly his demeanour changed from relieved annoyance to aggression. "get inside the house" he said with a growl.

"Dad i-"

"I SAID GET INSIDE!" his father roared, Blaze flinched back. His father had never shouted at him before, not like this, not this aggressive. Blaze nodded and made his way onto the porch, up the steps and met his mother by the door.

"What's going on? He whispered to her, Rarity gave him a sad look.

"you should never have had to see this, now get upstairs" she shooed him up the stairs and into his room, she locked the door behind her. Leaving him trapped, annoyed and confused. What was going on, why was his father so angry and why couldn't he see what was going on? He made his way to his bed, climbed onto it and leaned towards the window, poking his head out the corner of the still open window to see what was happening. He hadn't missed a thing.

Nova stood stock still, his face emotionless as he stood over luna. But you didn't need to see his features change to know he was angry, his eyes where alive with fire and an aura of hatred seemed to emanate from him. For a few seconds longer he simply stared at Luna, who seemed a little less radiant under her older brothers stare. "what are you doing here Luna?" he asked, his voice threateningly low.

"Nova, brothe-" she began

"Don't call me that, don't you ever call me that, you have no right to" Nova glared at her, Luna shrank a little more. "what are you doing here?" he asked again.

"i...i was lonely, and i was thinking about you and then i thought of Blaze" she scuffed her hoof, her head bowed towards the ground "i...i just wanted to meet my nephew" she looked up at Nova "and there's some...family stuff...to discuss"

Nova remained silent, the fire in his eyes seemed to threaten to burst forth and consume Luna. "i told you never to come back Luna, i told you to stay away from me and my family, I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM MY SON!" he gestured to the house, Blaze ducked back from the window. "do you think I've forgiven you for what you've done, do you think that just because i spared your life you have the right to stick your nose into my life?" he leaned forward, Luna leaned back "do you remember what i did to your nose the last time you tried that?"

"Brother please!"

"What did i just say? Don't call me that, I'm not your brother anymore Luna"

"Nova, listen. I know I've wounded you deeply-"

"So that's what you call locking me in a star for eight thousand years, and that wasn't just it, not by a long shot" the aura of resentment was palpable. "give me one reason not to beat you into a pulp again right now"

"Celestias sick" Luna said, her eyes where sad and fearful "she's...she's caught greyscale"

"...that's impossible; there hasn't been a case of greyscale in four hundred years"

"she caught it on her recent delegation to Cathay, the doctors say she could die"

"nothing mortal can kill an immortal"

"Greyscale isn't mortal Nova, it's magical"

"Celestia won't die, she's been through worse"

"Nevertheless, the conclave has called that in the event of Celestias death a successor must be appointed" Nova snorted.

"Do you think i want to sit my arse on that throne Luna? Don't be stupid. I have a family here, i have a new life. I don't want anything to do with you or the court"

Lunas voice was very quiet "it's...it's not you that the conclave has chosen" Nova stared at her bewildered, and then the meaning of her words sunk in, he turned to the house and caught sight of Blaze.

"you...you don't mean..." he mumbled, then he shook his head and composed himself "NO!" he roared, his cheeks red "DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING TOUCH MY SON YOU BITCH!" Novas eyes flashed and from the earth beside him erupted a heavy and ornate hammer that Blaze had never seen before, Nova took it in his grip and brought it in between himself and Luna, blocking her from the house "what right makes you think i would ever let you take my son off to that den of lies, tell me Luna TELL ME! After everything you did, torturing Blossom, locking me in a star, trying to kill Rarity. What the hell makes you think you had the right to do this?"

Luna composed herself and stood to her full height, though she was still a few inches shorter then her brother. "You may have renounced your right to the throne Nova, but royal blood still flows through your veins, and through those of your son. Blaze never gave up the right of succession; he has every right to the throne"

"If you're coming up with bullshit like that why don't you go get that filly from Trottingham and stick her on the throne? At least she's an Alicorn; Blaze is just a lowly Pegasus"

"this is Blazes choice!" Luna snapped, she was getting irritated, Blaze could see trendils of shadow rise up from the earth and pool by her hooves. Nova didn't even deem to notice. "Blaze was born form a legitimate marriage and has royal lineage, he is the only successor, law dictates the throne must be inherited by a stallion"

"a funny thing the law, i seem to remember there was a coup when i last sat on the throne"

"this is beyond your control Nova, now let me talk to my nephew"

Nova stood still, an implacable barrier between Luna and the house. For a moment Blaze thought he wouldn't back off, but then he stepped to the side. "you've got ten minutes Luna, and then you get the fuck out of my house. If i hear anything to do with this throne crap I'll see to it that you never see Blaze ever again, you and Celestia are lucky enough i send those cards"

Luna nodded her thanks and made her way to the house, as she reached the porch Rarity bowed low "let me show you to my sons room" Luna nodded and looked up at Blazes window. He shot back out of sight and felt a sweat start to begin on his brow. '_who the hell is Blossom, what did my dad mean 'trapped for eight thousand years'? And what the hell does she mean by 'taking the throne'?' _he stood up and remade his bed, then he did a quick search of the floor, picking up the books and papers littered over the floor. Just as he finished up there was the clinking sound of the lock on his door opening, and then a knocking sound.

"come in" Blaze squeaked, Luna opened the door and stepped slowly into the room, looking around her.

"so...this is your room?"

"yes...but most of the time I'm not here"

"oh" Luna walked over to the side of Blazes bed and sat down, Blaze was feeling slightly awkward.

"what did you do to my dad?" he blurted out before he could stop himself, Lunas cheeks flushed and she stared at the floor.

"a long time ago, Celestia and i...we usurped your fathers throne. We...killed his mate, Cherry blossom, and locked him within the heart of a star for eight thousand years"

Blaze had no idea how to process that.

"so...that's why he keeps the trees?"

"yes...your father loved Blossom very much, he will never forgive me for what I've done" Luna gave him a sad smile "and if you hate me too blaze...i wouldn't be surprised. You barely know me, and this is all so sudden, and it was no pretty thing i did to my brother"

"i don't hate you"

"really?"

"yes, i don't even know you, how could i hate you"

Luna smiled again, this time even sadder then before "the ignorance of youth, one day Blaze you'll understand" she stood up and made her way to the door "and when you do, you will hate me as well"

"Wait! Blaze said, he slid off the bed and stood beside Luna "Before you go...can i have a hug...Auntie Luna?"

Luna seemed taken aback "i...i suppose so" she said. She wrapped her hooves around blaze and hugged him close, Blaze buried his nose in her mane. She smelled of cinnamon. For at least a minute they simply stood there, Luna had tears running down her cheeks. Then there was a knock on the door and his father opened it, for a moment he stood shocked at what he saw, but only for a moment.

"time's up" he said quietly, gesturing for Luna to leave "time to leave Luna" his aunt nodded sadly and unwrapped Blaze from her embrace.

"goodbye Blaze" she said, teary eyes. She leaned in and kissed his forehead "i wish we could have spent more time together" and then she stepped through the door, turned down the hallway and disappeared from sight. Blaze looked at his father.

"What happened?" he asked, Nova simply looked at him.

"I'll tell you when you're older" Nova said, and then he closed the door. Blaze stood staring at the door for a long time into the night, he didn't even go to the window to see Luna leave.

'_what happened between them?' _he thought, a million ideas fighting it out in his brain. He finally got up and went to lie on his bed, staring at the ceiling '_all i wanted to do was go to hearts and hooves day with Sweet cream, what the hell's going on?'_


	8. Chapter 8, a normal day

Chapter 8, a normal day

Blaze woke early the next morning to the high pitched beeping of his alarm clock, which he promptly silenced so as not to wake anyone else. It was six o'clock in the morning and the sun still had to rise above the horizon and light up the world, for now the moon still reigned. Blaze rolled out of bed and smoothed out the sheets, he'd slept on top of the covers last night, so he didn't need to remake his bed again.

He grabbed his flank pack from under the bed and emptied its contents out onto the sheets with a heavy thump. Inside was everything from the previous day, the box that had contained Sweet creams necklace, which she now wore around her neck. There were three thick text books that contained roughly sixty thesis on the chemical composition of magically generated materials and crystals by Amethyst, princess Lunas personal student. There was also a myriad of loose papers and an empty cigarette packed, which he promptly hid.

Blaze was never up this early, not ever. But after the events of last night he just wanted to get out of the house before he had to face his father, he had to get out taking a breath and hoping the world would slow back down to his speed. It was absolutely ridiculous; only just yesterday he'd been living quite normally. He'd asked Sweet cream to go to hearts and hooves day with him, he'd gone to town and bought silk for his mother, he'd gone swimming in the lakes, everything had been completely normal. But then for no reason what so ever a royal princess had shown up out of nowhere and asked him to become a prince.

When he was smaller Blaze had played make believe just like any colt his age, running to and throw and making up the most ridiculous adventures. He'd been a pirate, a spy, and of course a prince. He'd fought dragons and saved beautiful princesses from towers, he'd run around the garden in a cloak his mother had made him and not ever paused to emerge from his world of dreams. But they were just day dreams, nothing more than his imagination, what Luna had told his father last night had been very real. Blaze had never considered what it would be like to be a real prince, the idea of it had never even crossed his mind.

'_Just imagine the responsibility!'_ he thought to himself as he packed his bag, he knelt down and pulled out a medium sized wooden chest from under the bed. He opened it up and pulled out his old cloak, considering the faded blue swirls his mother had lovingly embroidered into it. '_Princes don't wear this sought of stuff anymore'_ he placed the cloak on the bed and went back to the chest and pulled out a packet of sweets, which he placed in the pack. '_There are no wars anymore, there are no dragons anymore. It's all just writing letters and doing paper work, there's nothing exciting about being a prince'_

Blaze was all for the idea, don't get him wrong, being a prince would have been amazing for his social standing. But it would also make his life so much more difficult, there would be so much more hassle. '_i wouldn't be able to hang with my friends anymore'_ he thought as he silently made his way around the room, picking up books and spare bits of change to put in the pack '_i would have to spend all my time at the palace learning to be a prince. I'd have to learn how to use different forks and stuff, I'd have to learn how to bow and act with dignity and compliment nobles and all that crap, i don't want that' _just look at prince blue blood...wait...why couldn't blue blood inherit the throne, ponies have known about him for years. _'He's only a nephew, I'm the actual descendent of a prince, I'm a direct link to the throne' _for some reason thinking of his dad as a prince made Blaze feel a bit weird.

Nova was perhaps one of the ponies he would least suspect of being a prince. His father was the opposite of what a prince should be. He slurped his soup, belched at the table, made cringe worthy lines about his mother. Even his job was considered menial by someponies standards, he worked in the forge, hammer and shaping metal. He didn't know any of the nobility and he'd never been to Canterlot in his life, or been to any sought of royal event...or so Blaze had thought until last night. '_I'm the son of Nova Starflight, the royal prince of Equestria'_ it just didn't sound right, Blaze thought, he tried giving his own name a title '_Blaze Starflight, the prince of Equestria' _that didn't sound right either. Blaze was just a normal Pegasus who was going to live a normal life from he could tell, his cutie mark was a shield in the centre of a silhouetted heart, which his mother told him stood for fortitude. A shield was a normal mark; it was nothing special or royal.

Blaze returned to reality and inspected his handy-work. His pack was neatly filled in, with his text books laid out in alphabetical order. After that he'd placed his packet of sweets and he'd folded his cloak over the top to keep them all covered, Blaze picked up the back and swung it onto his flank and went to the door. As he was about to leave he hesitated, and then went to his draws and unlocked the bottom one with his magic, he reached in and pulled out a packet of cigarettes which he stowed away in the pack and made his way back to the door and went down the stairs to the back door. Blaze didn't normally smoke; he was pretty clean about it. But when he felt down or restless he would sneak out for one '_and when I'm drunk, i tend to smoke when I'm drunk_' he opened the pack door and stepped out into the garden, which looked like a lake of pink in the early morning mists.

In the centre was a small patch devoid of blossom, in its centre grew a small black rose. Blaze went up to it and inspected it, giving it a quick sniff; it smelt like...darkness, like night time. It was written that whenever an immortal felt a surge of emotion for whatever reason, one of these flowers would grow from the ground the immortal had stood upon. Each flower was individual to the immortal however, so no two where the same. Also, the flowers couldn't be killed, and would only die when the immortal that had created them died, which meant that a lot of these things where still alive in the world, Blaze wondered if any of them belonged to his father.

This one flower would be here for a long time to come he knew, and would probably outlast Blaze and his children and even his grandchildren. Blaze gave it a final admiring look before he took to the air and left the house and the flower behind him. The air was cool and clean in his lungs as he soared above the mist and into the open sky, below him the buildings of ponyville peaked out of the mist like islands in the sea. He flew over the town and set down on top of a small round building just off from the centre, landing lightly on the roof so as not to wake up the owners. Blaze sat down, pulled out a cigarette and magically lit it, inhaling deeply. His exhaled and the smoke flew from his mouth and mixed in with the morning mist, looking at it he decided that smoking a cigarette was unlikely to change his situation, so he flung it away over the side of the building. It disappeared into the mist.

Blaze pulled out one of the text books written by Amethyst and opened it up at a page entitled 'the molecular structures of magically forged alloys, deciding to lose himself in a book. '_Many of the metals employed by ancient heroes where forged with metals that contain magic or have magically induced properties, these metals are capable of channelling magic because of their unique atomic structure, where their electron count is higher than the contained number of protons. This means that the metals atomic structure contains an excess of free flowing electrons, which means that the free electrons can bind to magical particles without causing the metal to react and change form and lose its magical properties. These free electrons bind with magical particles and cause a tiny amount of energy to be bonded to each atom, the type of energy is different depending on the type of spell employed...' _and on and on it went.

In the streets below the mist had begun to lift and the sounds of waking ponies drifted up to him. Not wanting to be caught on top of someponies at home by strangers, Blaze packed up his flank pack and leapt of the edge of the rood, gliding gracefully down onto the cobbled road. The streets of ponyville where only just starting to come alive, the shadows of ponies looming out of the mists like ghosts. He made his way through the maze of streets and into the square he had come to yesterday, on the far side of the square the local restaurant "the cherry orchard" was just opening for business. He trotted across the square and stepped inside, it was warm inside, and smelt of peaches rather than cherries.

"Can i help you sir?" one of the waiters asked, a unicorn who was standing behind a small counter by the door.

"I was wondering if you had any free reservation spots for hearts and hooves day?" the stallion nodded and opened a small file, flipping through the pages.

"hearts and hooves, hearts and hooves...ah here we go" Blaze crossed his hooves '_come on, come on, there's gotta be at least one spot'_ "why yes we do, the last one as well actually" the waiter gave Blaze a smile "a table for two, by the river as well i would presume?" blaze nodded "of course, how could i think anything different" the stallion levitated a pen and wrote in the reservation "what name is this reserve for sir?"

"Blaze Starflight"

"Your Novas boy? I remember him, good guy, helped me fish my brother out of the river when he fell off the bridge"

"Hey!" another waiter called from across the room, this one identical to the one behind the counter.

"whatever tom" he turned back to Blaze "ok, that's all sorted, I'll see you in three days then sir"

"cheers" Blaze said, stepping through the door and back out into the morning gloom '_well at least some things are going my way'_ he thought as the sun began to break through the mist '_Sweet cream is going to love this' _


	9. Chapter 9, Auntie belle

Chapter 9, Auntie Belle

'_i can't go to hearts and hooves day without a suit, that would just be rude'_ Blaze thought as he made his way down the road, the sun was now properly risen and the town was alive with life. Wagons and carts where being pulled in from the farms and homesteads on the outskirts of the region, loaded up with wheat, barley, fruit and vegetables, everything that a pony would want to eat. The carts where pulled by teams of strong farm stallions, their coats all tanned from years of working under the burning sun.

Blaze knew there was only one place he could go to get a suit that wouldn't take years to make. He would have trusted this task to his mother, who was the finest fashion designer he'd ever known, but his mother was likely to become too wrapped up in the project and it would take weeks for it to get done. No, if he wanted a suit in time he would have to go meet his aunt...well, his other aunt. After Rarity had moved in with Nova, her other house had been inherited by her sister Sweetie belle, who by process of law was Blazes aunt.

Blaze usually came by to see auntie belle when he had some free time, his aunt was warm company and always wanted to know how her nephew was doing at school. Blaze was happy to visit his aunt, who always seemed to have an unlimited supply of burnt cookies to give him, Blaze didn't mind the burnt taste, and to him it tasted just right. His split off from the main road and went down a small side alley, over head the building leant so close together they met in the middle, turning the alley into a tunnel. Emerging on the other side Blaze found himself down by the lake, ahead of him a small bridge let across into the park, which was bustling with ponies as usual. Up another path to his left was a small round two storey building that sat serenely surrounded by tall trees, his aunt's house.

Blaze made his way up to the door and knocked, enjoying the noise his hoof made on the thick wood. From the top floor there was a crashing sound, followed by a curse and then the creaking of somepony coming down the stairs. The door opened and Nova was greeted by a stallion roughly two inches taller than him, it was his uncle-in-law Pip. Over the years Pip hadn't really changed from his old self, his coat was still a dusty white and covered with patches of brown. On his flank his cutie mark was a compass and his thick brown hair was surprisingly well groomed, probably at his wifes insistence. "ah, Blaze good to see you, are you here for a suit? Belle said you would be"

"Yeah i am, is she free?"

"i'm afraid she's seeing another client at the moment, with hearts and hooves day coming up it seems everypony wants a new dress or a suit, we're running low on just about everything in stock" '_Pip has a nice accent'_ blaze thought "but since you're her nephew and all i don't see why you can't come in and help, Belle's been working herself nonstop and she could use some assistance" Pip stood aside and let Blaze enter "i would help her myself, but i never learnt to sow, i still have trouble remembering the million different colours she uses" Pip gestured to the set of spiralling steps and the end of the hall way "she's just upstairs, I'll be in the basement if you need anything"

Blaze nodded his thanks and made his way down the hall and up the stairs, spiralling upward. "Auntie Belle?" he called out as he reached the top "it's me, Blaze" he said, his head peaking over the top of the floor, looking around himself. The top storey of the building was a single huge room, a massive circular space filled with racks of clothes, mannequins, bags of jewels, sowing equipment, desks covered with sketches of half finished dresses and racks of finished clothes. In the centre of the room was a small podium, half surrounded by mirrors. On it stood a mare, who stood with arms out and her legs apart as his auntie Belle took measurements of every inch of her body, measuring her legs, arms, the inside of her legs, her waist, her bust and her back as well for some reason.

Sweetie belle turned at the sound of her name being called out and her face lit up with a smile "I knew he would come" she said to the mare on the podium "I knew there was no way he would miss the chance to see you in your new dress" it was then that Blaze noticed who the mare on the podium was, it was Sweet cream. Blaze let out a squeak and ducked his down into the stair well, Sweet cream squeaked as well and dodged behind a mirror. "oh come on you two" Sweetie belle said, the amusement evident in her voice "it's not like you've never seen each other before" Blaze poked his head out again, Sweet cream peeped out from behind the mirror.

"hi Blaze" she said in her usual quiet voice, barely louder than a whisper "it's good to see you" Blaze felt absurdly happy at the notion.

"It's good to see you too" he said, slowly making his way up the stairs. He felt like a rabbit in the headlights, one wrong move and he would get squashed. "I just came by to see if i could get a suit made for hearts and hooves day" he told his aunt, who smiled knowingly at him.

"Sweet creams already told me, so has Twilight. Asking a girl on a date to hearts and hooves day, oh Blaze you're growing up so quickly" Sweetie belle smiled "it seems like only yesterday i was making you your first scarf for new hearths eve, you looked os cute in it"

"It was pink and covered in glitter"

"Exactly" Sweetie belle returned to her work, levitating out a measuring tape "i knew you had something planned for this hearts and hooves day, so i already have a suit made for you" she absently gestured to a suit that was currently being worn by a mannequin "one of my finest pieces, and i do say so myself. I should have Sweet creams here done by the end of today, but the measuring almost over, so you two can have the rest of today together" Sweet cream blushed, Blaze felt his own cheeks flare. Blaze went up to the mannequin and gave the suit a closer look. To be honest he had no clue what he was doing, when it came to making clothing he could stitch and sow like his mother had taught him, but when it came to actually knowing the quality of a piece of clothing he had no clue what he was doing.

"it looks nice" he said, running a hoof over the cloth, it felt very soft.

"Looks nice? I spent a month working on that suit, it better be more then nice!"

"it's perfect, is that better?"

"yep" Sweetie Belle said, her face focused in concentration, her tongue poking out the side of her mouth. "there we go" said, noting down a final measurement on a scrap of paper "that's you done, now you and Blaze can go and spend some time together" she told Sweet cream, whose cheeks turned an even brighter red. "go on now, don't be shy" she said with a wink.

Sweet cream nodded "ok" she said meekly, stepping down off the podium. Feeling equally meek, Blaze went to up to her and together the pair went down the stairs, along the hall and out the front door, stepping out into what was now a bright afternoon. From a window in the top floor Sweetie belle watched them go, her husband came up the stairs and stood beside her.

"reminds me of when you asked me to hearts and hooves day, i'd never seen your face so red" she told him. Pips cheeks turned a bright red and Sweetie belle laughed.

≤ΘΘΘ≥

"so...what do you want to do?" Blaze asked. Sweet cream shrugged.

"anything you want to do is fine" she said, smiling in her shy way, it made Blaze feel happy.

"well we could go to the lakes, or i could get you something from the bakery, they've just made a fresh batch of bread i reckon, if my sense of timing's right"

"do you always think with your stomach?" Sweet cream asked '_she looks so cute when she smiles_'

"most of the time, when you live with my mother's cooking it tends to happen" he said, smiling back.

"Well fresh bread sounds wonderful" Cream told him, her blue eyes twinkling. Blaze felt his smile widen and he offered Cream his hoof, which she took, and they made their way to the centre of town. "Have you planned anything for our date?" she asked as they walked down the street.

"Of course, but i'm not going to tell you, that would just spoil the surprise"

"Oh, don't be like that"

"What? It's just like waiting for a birthday present"

"Except my birthday isn't the most romantic day of the year"

"...that's true" they'd reached the town square and crossed it to the bakery. Sweet cream picked a fresh loaf of bread that smelt heavenly, Blaze paid a bit for it and they made their way to one of the benches around the square. Blaze watched Sweet cream as she ate a small piece of bread, marvelling at her profile. Around her neck there lay the necklace he'd bought her, the emeralds set into it twinkling in the sun light.

"What are you looking at?" Sweet cream asked him with a smile, Blaze realised he'd been staring.

"just that i'm lucky to have you" he told her, smiling when she blushed. For a moment they looked into each others eyes, and then they began to lean in. Blazes breath was caught in his throat, this was his first kiss with Sweet cream and he felt his heart beating like a piston in his chest. They where only an inch apart when there was a sudden flash of purple light and they sprang apart, startled.

"Ah Blaze, I've been looking for you all day" the purple flash receded from Blazes vision and he saw miss Sparkle standing in front of him, a broad smile on her face "you're late for our lesson, so come on now, we've got a lot work to do"

"What, wait, no, i was abou-" and then there was another flash and he felt himself land hard in a wooden chair. He shook his head to clear his vision and saw he was sitting at a large desk in the library, on the other side of the desk stood Miss Sparkle, who was smiling warmly "t to...kiss...Swee..." his voice trailed off.

"here you go" Miss sparkle said, levitating a heavy stack of books onto the desk. It was at least five books thick, each book about five hundred pages thick. "by the end of the holidays i'm going to need you to read at least two of these and have written me a thesis paper on ghost waves and their influence with astrology" Blaze gawked at the stack of books. "i'll just be upstairs if you need me" Miss sparkle said, disappearing up the wooden stairs in the side of the wall and into her room.

Blaze stared at the stack of books _'why the hell is this happening to me!'_ he thought, he groaned and slammed his head against the table.

'_well this is shit'_


	10. Chapter 10, My tutor Twilight

Chapter 10, My tutor Twilight

Blaze worked his way through the thick stack of papers, slowly but steadily filling out question after question on topics from the creation of Equestria to the internal biology of a manticore. To his left was the original pile, not looking near as formidable as when he'd started. In his right was the pile of work he'd already done, and it was almost on par with the height of the original pile.

He'd been working for at least eight hours now, and outside the sun had sunk low in the sky, setting the far horizon on fire with blood. Blaze huffed and placed another paper on the finished paper on the right pile and pulled another sheet from the left pile that was entitled '_Hiyterial steel and its properties' _he groaned, not _more _chemistry work. Over half of the work he'd done was written by an alchemist pony named Amethyst, and Blaze had spent the best part of the day slogging through thesis papers and experiment notes.

'_why did she have to do Hiyterial steel? Of all the magical alloys why did she do Hiyterial steel?'_ Hiyterial steel was a magical alloy that took several years to forge. First the base elements of the metal, iron and trace amounts of magnesium and potassium, had to be extracted from the blood of a dragon. The process was dangerous, laborious and there was the potential for residue magical energies within the blood to cause it to evaporate, making the whole endeavour of finding and killing a dragon a complete waste of time. Once a sufficient amount of iron was extracted it was melted down and then several other magical elements where added, the list was extensive, and each element added gave the metal a unique ability. Timonium was added to provide additional channelling, Kenturnium to make the metal stronger, Ashternal to reinforce it on a molecular level.

But whilst these where the most fundamental of the ingredients the list included more...unusual choices. There was virgins' blood, crushed unicorn horn, Alicorn hair, pegausi wing bone and all manner of dark combinations. Of course whatever you added to the mix wasn't necessarily chosen, Hiyterial steel is a hard metal to alter, and only two of the ingredients added to the slag of iron where likely to bond with it, in most cases you where lucky if you even got one. Once everything was added the mixture had to be heated over embers of obsidian, which contributed to the dark, smoky colour of the metal, for three days and nights. When the mixing process was done the metal was poured into a mould and hammered into shape, this too being a laborious process, for a soon as Hiyterial steel takes a shape it retains that shape, and can't be changed without supreme effort from the forger.

Ancient legends told stories about heroes from the dawn of Equestria, who fought against the darkness of the evil deity Discord with magical weapons said to have been blessed by the creator herself. Fire, Ice, Storm, Earth, Water, Sky, all where names of great weapons borne into battles by unsung heroes who lived their whole lives in a world that didn't have the light of the sun or moon. After discords defeat the heroes agreed that whilst each weapon had the potential for incredible good, should one of them become corrupt they would be too difficult to stop. So the ancient weapons were taken to the far corners of the earth and hidden away in tombs far beneath the surface of the world. Within each tomb was interned the body of the hero who had borne the weapon in life, and who would guard it in death. The tombs were said to be guarded by entities formed from pure darkness, unholy creatures who's will had been shackled and bound to the duty of protecting the weapons.

In the second millennial cycle of the moon Discord had come again, this time at the head of a demonic host he'd taken from hell, selling whatever remained of his sick and twisted soul to bind the demons to his service. Discords host had swept away all those before it, washing like a tide of corruption over eastern Equestria, ravaging the province and butchering all he found. The assault of Highfort, the battle of Eastpeak, the siege of Ironforge, all where battles in a war that lasted for over a hundred years. Whole generations lived and died during the war, the art of killing becoming all they knew. It was during these dark times the Prince Nova Starflight, Blazes own father, had searched for the missing great weapons of the dawning age. Nova looked far and wide, his search taking him from the Ash fields in the far east to Tornuldal at the peak of the world and even into Nightcavern within the bowels of the world. Finally as he made his way across the red wastes, alone and dying, Nova had chanced upon a small cave in the side of a windswept bluff. Within he'd found an ancient mare, who'd pleaded him for food. Nova had little left, but he'd given it to the mare regardless before drifting into a fitful sleep. When he had awoken the mare had disappeared, and in her place, wrapped within a bundle of cloth, had been a majestic hammer, forged of Hiyterial steel and its head as black as smoke.

With that hammer Nova fought his way across the wastes, crossed the Black peaks, slugged through the festering swamps of Jakinde and finally made his way to Iron forge. Iron forge was an ancient stronghold, a massive wall built within the chain of mountains named the grey barrier. The barrier was nigh impenetrable to any invading army, even Discords, and the only way across was to go through Night wind pass, which was blocked off by the immense wall of Iron forge. When Discords host had fallen upon Iron forge all knew that should the wall fall, Discord would have a straight march to Canterlot and the heart of the realm. Discords force had been huge, filled with legion upon legion of twisted demonic creatures that corrupted the world around them as they marched. There where monstrosities the size of houses that could crush whole battalions of battle hardened warriors in one stroke, not only that but even ponies marched under discords banner, traitors and turn cloaks who had betrayed their kin in exchange for Discords patronage.

Under a sky the colour of Blood the two armies had clashed and Nova defeated Discord in single combat, smashing out one of his teeth with the head of his mighty hammer. The second of Discords defeat the demonic host he'd summoned dissolved away into corrupt ichor and blood, soon after the Traitor legions had turned tail and fled, and they'd never stopped running. There was many a night Blaze had been too scared to sleep after his father had told him stories of the traitors' descendents, who lived in dark caves in the roots of the world and dined on the flesh of new born foals.

Blaze filled out the sheet and laid it on the stack of finished work, and was surprised to find it was the last piece of work he'd had to do. He laid the quill down on the table and leaned back in the chair with a moan "FINISHED!" he shouted "CAN I PLEASE GO NOW MISS SPARKEL?" Twilight stuck her head out from upstairs.

"Finished already Blaze? I thought it would take you longer then that" she said with a smile, at the one moment Blaze could easily have imagined spitting in her food.

"Can i please go now?" he whined, he'd been stuck in this room all day, and the manner of his arrival didn't help either '_she knew, i bet she knew, why else would she just teleport me off like that. I was about to kiss Sweet cream! I was about to kiss her! On the lips! And she came in and ruined everything!' _he fumed.

"of course, the doors right over there" miss sparkle smiled, which made Blaze even more angry. When he'd first been deposited within the library he'd immediately made his way to the door, determined to get back to Sweet cream and finish what he'd started. But as soon as he'd touched the door there'd been a flash of light and he'd immediately found himself sitting on the chair back at the desk, miss Sparkle smiling at him. He'd tried to open the door ten times, and every time he'd been teleported back to the desk. "It's a spell I've placed on the door" miss sparkle had explained after his final try "it'll only turn off when you're done" Blaze had never felt so angry.

Blaze got up and made his way to the door, he paused when he reached it. "go on" miss sparkle urged, and he tentatively reached forward and pushed at the door, it had gently swung open. With a sigh of relief he stepped outside into the cool night air, a gentle breeze ruffling the flames in his hair. "don't forget, you've got more work tomorrow" miss sparkle told him, standing in the door way "you've got to study hard if you want to get into the royal academy" Blaze nodded his goodbyes and opened his wings at began to take off, Twilight used a spell to grab at his tail and Blaze yelped and fell to the ground "and one more thing" miss sparkle said, standing over him "don't you let sweet cream distract you, i've spent to long teaching you to watch you fail the entrance exams because of some filly, ok?" and then she turned around and went back inside the library, closing the door silently behind her.

'_What the hell just happened?'_ Blaze asked himself as he lay on the cobbles, a head ache was beginning to pound at the back of his head. He stood up, dusted himself off, and took off into the sky, leaving the library and his apparently psychopathic tutor behind. '_next stop, Sweet creams house'_ judging by the height of the moon in the sky it was about nine minutes past nine pm, Sweet cream wouldn't be asleep yet. '_i hope she doesn't hate me for what happened' _sweet cream was not as shy as her mother, but Blaze knew that she must have had an emotional rush if she wanted to kiss him, and coming down from that so abruptly couldn't do anything good for her. '_please cream' _he thought as he spotted her house on the edge of the town '_please don't hate me'_


	11. Chapter 11, Family dilemmas

Chapter 11, family dilemmas

"Oh, Blaze" Fluttershy said, standing at the doorway of her home. The lights where on inside, and the yellow light poured out of the door and covered Blaze, who stood outside in the starry night. "I'm afraid Sweet cream is in her room, she's really upset" Fluttershy gave him a very unthreatening look "I think it's best that you don't come in and talk, she might get even more upset"

"But miss Fluttershy, i swear i had nothing to do with it, it was miss Sparkles fault!"

"Twilight has been my friend for over twenty years now Blaze, do you really think i would believe that she would hurt my daughter like this?" Fluttershy looked disgustedly at him "my daughter liked you a lot Blaze, i can't believe you'd pull a prank like this on her"

"But miss Fluttershy-"

"Good night Blaze" and she closed the door in his face. Blaze simply stood there in shock, not knowing what to do.

"But...i didn't do anything wrong..." he whispered to the door, knowing even as he said it that nopony could hear him. The back of his throat was starting to hurt, and Blaze could feel tears begin to prick at his eyes '_you mustn't cry, no matter what happens you mustn't cry'_ he turned his back to the door and walked slowly down the path to the little bridge at the base of the hill._ 'i didn't do anything wrong, it was all miss Sparkles fault' _his throat was beginning to ache, like he'd swallowed something but it wouldn't go down '_i never meant to hurt Sweet cream, i love her, i got her the necklace and i made the reservation, it was going to be perfect' _he crossed the bridge and stood on the other side, his back to the house.

He felt the tears begin to come out of his eyes and slowly roll down his cheeks, his body began to shiver as he let out a suppressed sob "please Sweet cream i never meant it" he closed his eyes tight shut and saw her in his mind, her white and pink mane flowing in the breeze and her shy smile in place, her blue eyes twinkling with happiness. He sobbed again and dried his eyes with one hoof; it came away wet with tears. From the house behind him there came a clinking sound of a lock being undone, and he turned around and looked up to see Sweet cream standing at her window up at the top of the tree. She paused when she saw him, like she hadn't expected him to be there at all. For a moment her features softened, and then she shook her head and threw something out the window, it flashed green. Blaze watched it fly through the air and land with a gentle splash in the stream, he had a brief second to see it was the necklace he'd bought her, and then the current caught hold of it and it was gone, whisked away downstream.

Sweet cream gave him one last look and Blaze saw she'd been crying. "Cream, i-" he began, but Sweet cream closed the window with a slam and drew the curtains behind it shut, blocking him out. Blaze felt himself shudder again, the pain at the back of his throat increased. '_no, not here, don't let her see you cry'_ he thought as he once again turned his back to the house '_she threw it away, i gave it to her but she threw it away'_ the sight of the necklace disappearing into the river playing over and over every time he closed his eyes. '_it took months to make, it cost so much, and now it's gone'_ Blaze didn't care about how much he'd spent though, it was what the necklace had represented that hurt him the most.

In ancient times, pegausi had given each other feathers from their wings to symbolise love. For Blaze the necklace had been his wings, not one feather, but all of them. He'd given Sweet cream the thing that defined him the most as himself and she'd thrown it away, Blaze felt hopelessly lost. Deciding that he wasn't helping his emotional state by standing outside Sweet creams house Blaze opened his wings and took to the sky, the wind causing his tears to turn freezing cold. He skirted around ponyville, not wanting anypony to see him like this, and cut across the fields to his house. He landed in the back garden and made his way up to the back door, it was unlocked. He opened it silently and stepped inside, only to be greeted by the sounds of angry voices from the living room.

"i don't care what the law says, you're not taking my son from me!" he heard his father say, his voice threatening.

"this is beyond your control Nova, the law is the law. Blaze is to become a prince" it was Luna, she'd come back, even though Nova had told her not to.

"Celestia isn't sick anymore, this isn't necessary. So get the hell out of my sight and don;t you ever come back to this house"

"the situation has changed brother" another voice said, this one was female, and it seemed to echo around inside Blazes ears, like it held power. "this recent...illness...has caused the council to take into consideration the possibility of infection, i'm to be removed from power and taken into isolation until they have confirmed that i'm not contagious" '_contagious? Illness? But that would mean...'_ Blaze came to the sudden realisation that princess Celestia was inside his house.

"To hell with that, Luna can rule instead, you're not taking my son from his home. He belongs here, not in bloody Canterlot!"

"Nova, this is the order of the council, should you refuse we will use force" there was the sound of flesh meeting flesh and then choked gasps. There were also several shouts and the 'shing' of steel.

"You say that one more time Luna, i dare you. Do you think i'm going to let you take my son from me? I swear i will kill you if you try" Blaze tip-toed to the doorway to the living room and leaned out slightly, peering into the living room. His father had princess Luna by the throat, holding her in the air like a rag doll, venom in his eyes. By Lunas side was princess Celestia, her pink and green and white hair flowing in an ethereal mist and look of shock tinged with fear on her face, beside her where two large stallions wearing armour. One was a pure white unicorn in golden armour, he levitated a sabre in the air, it's point directed at Nova. The other was a midnight black pegausi; his armour was a dark blue and a look of intense emotion on his face as a member of the Royal Lunar guard it was his life's duty to protect Luna, who was currently in a throat lock.

"call off your pets sisters" his father said, never turning his gaze from Luna "this carpets expensive"

"release Luna this instant Nova" Celestia said, trying to assert her authority. She failed however, Novas aura of anger burnt so brightly that her will power evaporated before it.

"oh Celestia, you're still so naive. Do you think i'm going to let this bitch go just because you've told me to?" Novas grip tightened on Lunas throat, Luna whimpered and clawed at her throat, Novas hoof was crushing at her wind pipe and she could feel herself begin to black out. Blaze couldn't simply stand around and let father do this to his aunt, he had to do something.

"Let her go!" he said, coming out from his hiding place. "Let her go dad! Right now"

"Blaze!" he said, turning from the squirming Luna. His face turned red and he let go of Luna, who dropped to the floor with a gasp, only to be caught in the hooves of her body guard. "What are you doing here?"

"What where you doing to auntie Luna?" he asked, feeling a heat start to flare on his cheeks " '_never hit mares Blaze, it's what a coward does' _so what the hell are you? A coward? Is that what my own father is? Is commander Nova a coward?" Novas own cheeks flared with shame and anger.

"you don't know Blaze, you don't know what she did to me, what she wants to do to you"

"i heard dad, she wants to make me a prince, that's an offer nopony ever gets, and you're turning it down just like that" Novas cheeks burned even brighter "i didn't even know i was related to her, but here you are making all the decisions for me. Honestly, i think it's disgusting"

"don't you talk to me like that Blaze, i'm your father!"

"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Blaze roared, his wings unfurling slightly "JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LET ME THINK FOR MYSELF FOR ONE GOD-DAMN MINUTE!" in all the stories Nova had had a great orators voice, but under Blazes sudden bombardment he fell quiet. Blaze had never talked like this to his father before, and he had no idea how he was ever going to make up for this.

"...you really want to talk to my sisters?" Nova asked, a hint of defeat in his voice. Since he had first held Blaze in his arms he had vowed to never let him get involved with Luna and Celestia, but now his son was walking straight into the lions teeth.

"yes...yes i do"

"fine, but i'm not letting these two stay under my roof any longer" Nova turned his back to Blaze and pushed past the guards and through into the kitchen "you might love your aunts, but you didn't see the scars Blaze, you didn't see what they did to me" and with that he disappeared into the kitchen. For a few moments the room was silent, and the Celestia raised her voice.

"Greetings Blaze, i'm-"

"Princess Celestia of the house Starflight, you're also my father's sister, my aunt and the same mare who tortured my father in a mad bid for power...i know who you are"

"we should continue this conversation outside, Nova has made his point quiet clear"

Blaze nodded and gestured for the two princesses to follow him, he made his way back to the back garden and sat on the edge of the porch, sighing and laying his head in his hooves. "Titus, Crawl, wait inside" he heard Celestia say, he buried his head in his hooves. Luna and Celestia came out and sat beside him on the porch, Celestia on his left and Luna on his right.

"Blaze..."

"father said you couldn't come back, so why are you here?" Blaze had been through a lot of crap today, and didn't feel like skirting around the edges of the questions, he cut straight through to the heart of the issue. It was Celestia who answered.

"Blaze, there's something you should know. Recently the council had decreed that an heir must be found for the throne, and you have been chosen"

"what about Blue blood?" Blaze asked, his voice muffled through his hooves, he hadn't raised his head.

"he's only a distant nephew, you're a direct son of a prince, born into a legitimate marriage, you are the only choice"

Blaze had been through a lot today, he'd come within an inch of kissing Sweet cream, he'd been forced to study for eight hours in the library, Fluttershy had slammed a door in his face, Sweet cream had thrown her necklace into the river, his father had almost choked the life out of one of his aunts and threatened to kill the other, and now he was being asked to be a prince, it just didn't sit with him. "I DON'T GIVE TWO SHITS ABOUT BEING A FUCKING PRINCE!" he screamed "ALL I WANTED WAS TO GO TO HEARTS AND HOOVES DAY WITH SWEET CREAM, IS THAT TOO MUCH TO FUCKING ASK!" the princesses recoiled, and by the door the guards tensed.

"Sweet cream? Who's that?" asked Celestia, recovering quickly.

"...nopony, it doesn't matter"

"did some mare snatch up our nephews heart?" asked Luna, a smile creeping on her face "if only you'd told us Blaze, i'm sure we can help"

"i don't want any help! I was going to do this all by myself, i had the reservations, i bought her the necklace, I've been asking her to be my heart and hooves since i could ever remember, this was the first time she'd not been too shy to say yes, and now it's all gone to hell"

"oh Blaze" Luna wrapped a hoof around him and drew him into her chest, gently cradling him and rocking back and forth "you stupid little colt, you think you're the only pony who's had this kind of problem before" she smiled "the first time a stallion asked me to be his heart and hooves i blushed so much even my mane turned red, does this girl mean a lot to you?"

Blaze nodded.

"well then what wrong? and me and Celestia will help set it straight"

Blaze nodded slowly, and then told the story of the past two days. As he told it he realised how much had happened in such a short amount of time, it seemed unreal. When he was done Luna hugged him even tighter.

"and she threw it away? Just like that?"

"it's not her fault, miss sparkle and her teleport spell started all of this"

"Twilight was always over-zealous about studying" Celestia said.

"you know, there's a lot of mares at court who would love a stallion like you" Luna brushed Blazes wings "with strong wings like that there isn't a single pegausi mare who wouldn't love you, and your mane, i know a mare called amethyst who would love it" Blaze blushed.

"i don't want another mare, i want Sweet cream" he whispered.

"you know what?" Celestia said, leaning in "your father was the same with cherry blossom" she said with a wink.


	12. Chapter 12, A drowned gift

Chapter 12, a drowned gift

It was the day before hearts and hooves day, and Blaze was almost out of time, tomorrow was Sunday, and that was hearts and hooves day. He'd spent the last day locked in his room, his mind going over and over his options. He had to get Sweet cream back; he couldn't let everything end like this. He had been Sweet creams friend since they were foals and they'd done everything together. Sweet cream was there when Nova had taken his first steps, when he'd taken to the air for the first time. She was there on his first day of school, his first day of boarding school, every single one of his birthdays, essentially everything he'd ever done; Sweet cream had been there with him.

Blaze had been working up the courage to ask Sweet cream to hearts and hooves day for years, always bottling out at the last second. When he'd first asked Sweet cream to be his heart and hooves back when he was nine, she'd turned a deep red and with a squeak ran off, leaving him standing in the school yard surrounded by sniggering foals. The next four years where exactly the same, each time she'd run off without ever answering. Blaze had always wondered why she never answered, but he always found the courage to try again year after year. Last year Sweet cream had actually hung around long enough to accept the card and chocolates he'd bought her, before turning an even brighter red then usual and galloping off.

This year he'd sworn to himself that if he failed this year, he should try to move on. But when Cream had opened the door and looked at him with her deep blue eyes full of innocence, he knew there wouldn't ever be another girl for him. But after the events of last Thursday, he doubted that Sweet Cream was in the same mood. He looked down from his high vantage point on a soft white cloud and watched the world turn, timing his moment. Later this day he knew Sweet cream would make a short trip to the edges of Everfree to collect herbs and plants for her mother's animals, and that was his best chance of getting some time to talk to her.

Time seemed to crawl by on a snail's pace, flowing like thick honey. Slowly the sun rose up in the east and rose its way up into the azure blue sky, its white light shone down on him and causing the white cloud beneath him to glow. Blaze looked to the north and saw the tiny silhouette of Canterlot on the far horizon, its towers reaching up into the sky. He knew that right now Celestia and Luna were probably using some sought of magic to watch him.

≤ΘΘΘ≥

"You're sure about this?" Luna had asked that night nova had attacked her, there concern in her voice, as well as a pleading edge.

"I'm not going to go to Canterlot with you, i'm not meant to be a prince" he said with a smile "i'm Blaze, just Blaze. I'm a pegausi with no idea which fork to use for starters or how to talk right to nobles. As far as i'm concerned i belong here in ponyville, not in a far away city like Canterlot" he shook his head slowly "besides, i don't know what dad would do without me, he'd miss me"

"far be it from me to take a son from his father" Luna said "if you ever want to take your place with us at court, just come find us" and with that and a final kiss on his forehead, Luna and Celestia had took to the air, leaving him in the back yard by himself. Blaze had looked back at the house to see his father standing at the back door, his mother by his side.

"He's growing up so fast" Nova had whispered to Rarity, she smiled and laid a hoof on his shoulder.

"You've got to let him grow Nova; he's young and inexperienced with the world. You've got to let him learn and find his own place; he can't be with us forever"

"I know, i just wish his place wasn't with my sisters"

"Maybe it always was, just look at him Nova. Our son is big, strong, and loyal; he's everything a prince should be"

Nova didn't know what to say, so he just watched his son standing amongst the cherry pink rain. '_If only you could see him Blossom, if only you could see my son. He's going to be such a strong stallion, everything we ever dreamed' _Nova tried not to think about Blossom too much, ever since his marriage to Rarity he'd tried to put the past behind him. But looking at his son now, he could see parts of Blossom within him. '_He's got her wings, and he carries himself with the same dignity. He's got the same sought of pride in his step, and when he's happy he gets the same pink tinge in his wings'_ Nova never wanted to let his son go, but looking at him now, he knew that Blaze he released himself from his home. It was only a matter of time before he took his first steps into a wider world.

"He's just like his father"

≤ΘΘΘ≥

There she was a small yellow dot on a great canvas of green. Blaze watched her make his way into town, cut across the square, and take one of the roads out of town towards Everfree. For a few minutes he waited, until she was just at the edge of the forest by the lake, and then he took off and dived, his landing taking him to the opposite side of the lake. He landed with a gentle whoosh of air and stepped lightly across the reeds to the edge of the lake, looking across to see Sweet cream, who stared back at him. This was it, a test, if Sweet cream left now, then it really was over. For long minutes they stared at each other, and then Blaze slowly opened his wings and jumped across the lake, his wings carrying across easily to land beside her. Sweet cream watched him with wide eyes.

"Blaze" she said softly "i...i don't want to talk to you right now" her cheeks where beginning to flush a bright red.

"Sweet cream, please listen, i swear i never meant it, i had nothing to do with it" Blaze pleaded, feeling any confidence he'd ever had drain away.

"I trusted you Blaze, i thought...i thought you meant what you'd said" she sniffed and Blaze realised she was crying already. "When you left everypony started sniggering and pointing at me, I've never felt so embarrassed" she turned away and began to pick at some of the plants growing by the edge of the lake.

"Cream, please, i love you, i swear i would never do anything like that" Sweet cream was silent "I've been asking you to be my heart and hooves for years, why would i do this now?"

"i don't know...just...just...leave me alone" Cream turned, not having collected anything that she'd needed, leaving Blaze alone by the lake, watching her leave. He sighed and hung his head in defeat '_it's over, no, it can't be over' _Blaze felt tears begin to roll down his cheeks for the second time '_no, please don't cry'_ but his body wasn't listening, and the tears continued to flow. He sat on his rump and buried his head in hooves, sobbing quietly. '_No, oh goddess no, please, it can't have ended like this'_ he raised his head and watched Sweet cream walked further and further away. He turned his head and looked across the lake and stared at the sun reflected on the surface, its light blinding him.

Then, there was a bright flash of green from the bottom of the lake. He stood up, sniffing, and stepped out into the shallows, staring down into the deeper centre. There it was again, the flash of green. '_no way'_ "SWEET CREAM!" he shouted, she turned her head "JUST WAIT A SECOND" he called, and then he leapt into the lake, the ice cold water filling his mouth and taking his breath away. He folded his wings against his back and swum deeper and deeper, getting closer into the bottom of the lake. His lungs were starting to hurt, a dull burning in his chest. The lake was at least twenty meters deep, and as he reached the bottom the light was getting dim. _'It's impossible, there's no way it could be here'_ but then there was another flash and he saw it lying in the in the soft mud of the lake, a small silver necklace with a pair of emerald green wings. He reached out and grabbed it; his chest was really starting to hurt. He gasped out for air and instead swallowed water.

He pushed against the bottom of the lake and shot up towards the surface, gasping down air as he surfaced. "BLAZE!" he heard Sweet cream shout, and as he clawed his way back towards the edge of the lake she splashed out into the shallows and grabbed at him, pulling him onto the side. "WHAT THE HELL WHERE YOU DOING?" she shouted at him, Blaze rolled onto his stomach and began coughing up water.

"Swe-" he coughed "sweet cream" he gasped. He held out his hoof and presented to her the muddy necklace, its emerald glow hidden under a layer of brown. "Please b-" he coughed again; shuddering violently as water came up from his throat "please be my heart and hooves" he managed before he retched again.

"Oh Blaze, you idiot!" Swee cream said. She sat down beside him and cradled his head in her hooves, gently rocking back and forth, making gentle soothing noises.

"Will you go out with me?" Blaze said, he felt a pounding start in his head.

"I never knew you cared this much" Sweet cream whispered, she stroked a lock of his flaming hair, which was soaking wet. "Of course I'll go out with you" she kissed him on the forehead. Blaze gave her a smile, his eyes where slightly unfocussed.

"Thanks" he said, his pupils were starting to dilate for some reason. "Erm...can i kiss you?" Sweet cream nodded, her cheeks flushing a bright pink. Blaze propped himself up on one hoof and leaned in to her. Sweet cream leaned in and their lips met, they gently pressed against each other. She tasted sweet, like...like cream, he decided, her mouth opened and his tongue slowly came forward and met hers. They held their embrace and then slowly separated; Blaze could feel his heart thumping in his chest and knew Sweet cream felt the same way.

"I love you" he whispered, Sweet cream placed her forehead against his, her eyes closed. Blaze closed his eyes and listened to her breath, his own heart matching hers. And then Sweet cream said the one thing he'd always wanted to hear.

"I love you too"

the end


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue, hearts and hooves day

"Maybe if we did something with his mane?"

"He's a stallion, not a mare, besides, what would we do with it?"

"Is it the suit?"

"No...I don't think so"

"How about we change his tie"

"I think red makes a nice contrast"

"Perhaps some cologne"

"I don't know..."

"Do you two really care that much?" Blaze asked his aunts. It was the night of hearts and hooves day and Blaze was getting ready for his date with Sweet cream. Or more rather his aunts where getting him ready. He'd spent the last three hours having his mane and tail combed, getting his tie immaculately straight, trying what felt like a hundred different colognes and listening to Luna and Celestia debate whether or not he needed a rose in his jacket.

"Of course!" Luna said, readjusting his tie for the millionth time.

"We want our nephew to look good for his first real date" chimed in Celestia.

"How come you two are here and not my mother?" Blaze asked "she would never miss out on an opportunity like this"

"Your mother was the one who invited us over" Luna said, placing a red rose in his suits jacket pocket.

"she thought that after fifteen years of not getting to spend any time with you we should get to spend some quality time with you" Celestia said, taking his hoof firmly in hers and spraying another cologne on his wrist. Blaze coughed.

"And straighten out the jacket..." Luna pulled his jacket straight and the two royal sisters stepped back to admire their work, looks of delight on their faces.

"Perfect!"

"Wonderful"

"Excellent"

"I think we've out done ourselves this time"

"He's just so handsome!"

"What do you think?" Luna summoned a body sized mirror from out of nowhere and Blaze stared at the unfamiliar reflection. Before him stood a handsome pegausi stallion, his mane had been expertly combed and its flames seemed to burn brighter than usual. The suit the stallion wore was tailor fitted and seemed to fit him expertly, making his shoulders seem broader and his wings had been expertly groomed, any loose feathers where gone and the feathers themselves seemed to glow a snow white.

"Is that really me?" Blaze lifted one hoof in the air, the reflection did the same.

"Somepony get the camera!" Luna shouted. Nova came in from the kitchen with a camera around his neck, Rarity by his side.

"Blaze!" his mother squeaked "you look so much older" Rarity trotted up and gave the suit a look over "Tailor fitted? Your aunts certainly didn't skip on any expense" Luna and Celestia nodded modestly.

"You look like a grown stallion Blaze" Nova said, a smile on his face, he raised the camera "ok everypony, let's get a good shot now" Luna, Celestia and Rarity all grouped around Blaze with smiles on their faces. Blaze managed a smile, but the knot in his stomach tightened. There was a flash and spots filled his vision. "Excellent, now get out there and get the girl Blaze"

Blaze nodded and made his way out of the living room, down the hall and out the front door, and then he stopped and stared, his mouth agape. "What do you think?" Luna asked from behind him, amusement in her voice. Out on the cobbled road was a royal chariot, its chassis a golden hue. It was pulled by a pair of white pegausi in golden armour, who stood to attention.

"...i didn't really expect this" he managed.

"well go on, Sweet creams waiting" Luna nudged at his flank and Blaze promptly walked out into the street and stepped onto the chariot, the pegausi pulling it reared as one and galloped forward. Blaze reached out and grabbed the chariots railing before he fell off, and then they were in the sky. Down below Luna, Celestia, Rarity and Nova watched the chariot shrink into the night sky.

"Go on kid" Nova said "go get her"

"I think we did pretty well" Luna said, feeling a sense of satisfaction

"Yeah, you didn't do too badly" Nova said begrudgingly, he nudged at her shoulder "not bad Lulu"

"You haven't called me that in years" Luna said with a smile. Nova smiled back.

≤ΘΘΘ≥

The chariot came to a gliding stopped, and Blaze leapt off and made his way to the door of Fluttershies home. He paused for a moment, swallowed the lump in his throat and knocked on the door. There was a hushed conversation and then the door opened to show Fluttershy, her cheeks red with happiness.

"Good even Miss Fluttershy" Blaze said, giving a practised bow "is your daughter home?"

"Oh, yes she is" Fluttershy said, stepping aside. Blaze looked past her and saw a mare standing at the foot of the staircase, he felt his heart begin to beat faster in his chest. Sweet cream was wearing a dress of green, which contrasted perfectly with her yellow skin. Her blue eyes seemed to shine with happiness and a flush crept up her neck, around which was a small silver necklace with a pair of emerald wings, Blaze felt a blush of his own work its way up his neck. "I wore that dress to the grand galloping gala years ago, your mother gave it a touch up for me" Blaze nodded mutely, words had failed him.

"good evening Blaze" Sweet cream said, moving from the staircase "i'm looking forward to the rest of the evening" Blaze nodded and offered her his hoof, which Sweet cream took without a moment of hesitation. When she saw the chariot she gasped, and Blaze felt a smile on his lips. "I...i..."

"The night is still young Sweet cream, come on, we've got a reservation at the cherry orchard" and without another word he guided her down to the chariot, helping her on board.

"Have a wonderful night!" Fluttershy called to them as the chariot took to the air, before she swiftly shrunk down to the size of an ant.

≤ΘΘΘ≥

"We have a reservation, Starflight, table for two" Blaze said, feeling confidence in every word.

"Ah, of course" the waiter said, a smile on his face. Outside a crowd had begun to gather around the chariot, staring at it and in turn at the pair of ponies who had stepped off it "please come with me" Blaze and Sweet cream followed behind him, they went through the restaurant and out of a pair of glass double doors onto a terrace. From the terrace there was a stone balcony, that struck out over the river. On the balcony was a small table with a burning candle in the centre, with a nod Blaze thanked the waiter and pulled out Sweet creams seat for her.

They both settled into the situation the found themselves in, enjoying each other's company as the night progressed. The food arrived, a special hearts and hooves day meal that consisted of soup, steak, and to finish a heart shaped box of chocolates. Blaze didn't really taste the food, or the bottle of champagne that came with the meal, even though he was still technically too young to drink, he suspected his father was involved at some point here. He didn't notice anything, except for the angel he shared the table with. At the end of the meal, after he'd paid and tipped the waiter and he and Sweet cream took a walk along the edge of the river. They walked through the moonlight, past the town and out into the open fields surrounding ponyville. They stopped under a great oak, whose branches stretched over them like the arms of a great giant.

"I had a really great night Blaze" Sweet cream said, her beautiful eyes reflected the light of the moon "i'm...i'm sorry for what i did"

"It wasn't your fault, it was mine" he said. He drew her close and simply hugged her tight against him, wishing the world could just hold still for a moment and let him savour the feel of Sweet cream against him. Sweet cream pulled away, stared into his eyes, and then she kissed him. Blaze felt himself begin to melt, a shivering sensation ran up and down his spine. He returned her kiss with one of his own; he drank her in, letting her scent of cream wash over him.

"Blaze, there's...there's something i want to give you" Sweet cream gave him a shy look.

"What is it?" Blaze asked, he could feel another flush run up his neck.

One of Sweet creams wings stretched out and undid one of the clasps on her dress, it fell away to reveal one of her shoulders, Blaze got what she meant. He drew her in for another kiss, and over head the stars and the moon shone bright in the night sky, lighting up the world below them and the pair of young lovers.


End file.
